Measuring grain rotation at the nanoscale

In this paper, we introduced a method to measure grain rotation of nanomaterials under external stress using a high pressure diamond anvil cell and the Laue microdiffraction technique at a synchrotron facility. We used tungsten carbide marker crystals to investigate grain rotation activities of 3 and 500?nm nickel media. Our results show that the grain rotation of 3 and 500?nm nickel nanocrystals increase with pressure and finally rotation of 500?nm nickel tends to stop at a lower pressure/stress level than 3?nm nickel. 3?nm nickel nanocrystals show a higher rotation magnitude than 500?nm nickel nanocrystals. Our measurements show an effective method to study the grain rotation of nanomaterials especially in ultrafine nanocrystals.     

Discontinuous crack-bridging model for fracture toughness analysis of nacre

Studying the structure–property relation of biological materials can not only provide insight into the physical mechanisms underlying their superior properties and functions but also benefit the design and fabrication of advanced biomimetic materials. In this paper, we present a microstructure-based fracture mechanics model to investigate the toughening effect due to the crack-bridging mechanism of platelets. Our theoretical analysis demonstrates the crucial contribution of this mechanism to the high toughness of nacre. It is found that the fracture toughness of nacre exhibits distinct dependence on the sizes of platelets, and the optimized ranges for the thickness and length of platelets required to achieve higher fracture toughness are given. In addition, the effects of such factors as the mechanical properties of the organic phase (or interfaces), the effective elastic modulus of nacre, and the stacking pattern of platelets are also examined. Finally, some guidelines for the biomimetic design of novel materials are proposed based on our theoretical analysis.     

Practical synthesis of bicyclic pyrazol-5-one derivatives

This communication describes a convenient synthesis of fused bicyclic pyrazolones in a one-pot reaction procedure. Modified protocols are also developed to access 5,5-bicyclic and bulky pyrazolones in good yields. The method reported herein represents a practical approach to structurally diversified bicyclic pyrazolones.     

Alkylation mechanism of benzene with 1-dodecene catalyzed by Et_3NHCl-AlCl_3

The isotope exchange method was employed to investigate the catalytic mechanism of ionic liquid in alkylation of benzenes with olefins.It is proposed that alkylation was induced by the Lewis acid AlCl3 which attracted π electrons of 1-dodecene to shift toward 1-carbon,thus forming a carbonium ion.The carbonium ion further reacted with benzenes to form a complex.Due to unstabilit of the complex,a deuterated ring proton was transferred into an electronegative 1-carbon of the side chain to substitute for the A...