Perovskite-type (Ba<Subscript>0.15</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.85</Subscript>)(B<Subscript>0.15</Subscript>Co<Subscript>0.85</Subscript>)O<Subscript>3 − δ</Subscript> (B = Ti,Nb) oxides: structural stability,oxygen nonstoichiometry,and oxygen sorption/desorption properties

The perovskite-type Ba- and Ti/Nb-doped (Ba_0.15Sr_0.85)(B_0.15Co_0.85)O_3 ? δ (B = Ti, Nb) oxides were synthesized successfully by the solid-state reaction method. Crystal structure, elemental compositions, and oxygen nonstoichiometry of the as-synthesized (Ba_0.15Sr_0.85)(B_0.15Co_0.85)O_3 ? δ (B = Ti, Nb) oxides were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS), inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-atomic emission spectrometry, thermogravimetry (TG), and iodometric titration. XRD results demonstrate that the as-obtained (Ba_0.15Sr_0.85)(B_0.15Co_0.85)O_3 ? δ (B = Ti, Nb) oxides possess purely cubic perovskite-type structures. The temperature-swing oxygen sorption/desorption properties of the as-synthesized (Ba_0.15Sr_0.85)(B_0.15Co_0.85)O_3 ? δ (B = Ti, Nb) perovskite-type oxides were studied by the dynamic TG. Results show that the structural stability of the co-doped (Ba_0.15Sr_0.85)(B_0.15Co_0.85)O_3 ? δ (B = Ti, Nb) oxides is improved greatly, and the high oxygen sorption capacity for the perovskite-type (Ba_0.15Sr_0.85)(B_0.15Co_0.85)O_3 ? δ (B = Ti, Nb) oxides is also obtained between 300 and 950 °C in air.     

Synthesis,refinement of the structure,and AC conductivity behavior of sodium lithium orthonavadates

The Na _x Li_1-x CdVO₄ (x = 0.5, 1) orthovanadates were prepared using a solid-state reaction method. The x-ray diffraction patterns (XRDP) of both materials reveal the formation of the Na₂CrO₄ structure. Vibrational study confirms the existence of [VO₄]^3? group. Electrical measurements of our compounds have been investigated using complex impedance spectroscopy (CIS) in the frequency and temperature range 209 Hz–1 MHz and 589–703 K, respectively. Nyquist plots reveal the presence of tow contributions, an equivalent circuit was proposed. DC conductivity shows electrical conduction in the material as a thermally activated process. The AC conductivity is explained using the non-overlapping small polaron tunneling (NSPT) conduction mechanism. A relationship between crystal structure and ionic conductivity was established and discussed.     

Effect of pyrolytic polyacrylonitrile on electrochemical performance of Si/graphite composite anode for lithium-ion batteries

The silicon/graphite (Si/G) composite was prepared using pyrolytic polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as carbon precursor, which is a nitrogen-doped carbon that provides efficient pathway for electron transfer. The combination of flake graphite and pyrolytic carbon layer accommodates the large volume expansion of Si during discharge-charge process. The Si/G composite was synthesized via cost-effective liquid solidification followed by carbonization process. The effect of PAN content on electrochemical performance of composites was investigated. The composite containing 40 wt% PAN exhibits a relatively better rate capability and cycle performance than others. It exhibits initial reversible specific capacity of 793.6 mAh g^?1 at a current density of 100 mA g^?1. High capacity of 661 mAh g^?1 can be reached after 50 cycles at current density of 500 mA g^?1.     

Synthesis of hierarchical Na<Subscript>2</Subscript>FeP<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>7</Subscript> spheres with high electrochemical performance via spray drying

Hierarchical Na₂FeP₂O₇ spheres with nanoparticles were successfully fabricated by a facile spray drying method. A relatively low drying temperature was introduced in order to form a carbon layer on the surface. As a cathode material for sodium-ion batteries, it delivered a reversible capacity of 84.4 mAh g^?1 at 0.1 C and showed excellent cycling and rate performance (64.7 mAh g^?1 at 5 C). Furthermore, a full sodium battery was fabricated using SP-Na₂FeP₂O₇ as the cathode and hard carbon as the anode, suffering almost no capacity loss after 400 cycles at 1 C. Due to its superior electrochemical property and the low materials cost, Na₂FeP₂O₇ is becoming a promising cathode material for large-scale energy storage systems.     

Layered lithium-rich oxide nanoparticles: low-temperature synthesis in mixed molten salt and excellent performance as cathode of lithium-ion battery

Layered lithium-rich oxide, 0.5Li₂MnO₃·0.5LiMn_1/3Ni_1/3Co_1/3O₂, is synthesized in a mixed molten salt of KCl and LiCl under 750 °C. Its morphology and structure are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and nitrogen adsorption and desorption isotherm, and its performances as cathode of lithium-ion battery are investigated by charge–discharge test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, with a comparison of the samples synthesized via solid-state reaction. It is found that the resulting product consists of uniform nanoparticles, 50 nm in average, which possesses a well crystallite layered structure although its synthesis temperature is low and thus exhibits excellent cyclic stability and rate capability. The resulting product delivers an initial discharge capacity of 268 mAh g^?1 at 0.1 C and has a capacity retention of 82% after 100 cycles at 1 C, compared to the 243 mAh g^?1 and 73% for the sample synthesized by solid-state reaction under 900 °C.     

Complex dynamics of a particle in an oscillating potential field

In this paper, Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by the facile sol–gel method. The crystalline structure, characteristic absorption bands and morphology of the obtained Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles were studied by XRD, FTIR and TEM. The thermal degradation behaviour of the samples was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG). The effect of Mg concentrations and annealing temperatures on the antibacterial properties of the obtained nanoparticles was investigated in detail. The results indicated that doping Mg ions into ZnO lattice could enhance its antibacterial activity. Antibacterial assay demonstrated that Mg-doped ZnO with 7% Mg content annealed at 400 ^°C had the strongest antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes (98.7%). This study indicated that the inhibition rate of ZnO nanoparticles increased with the formation of granular structure and the decrease of ZnO size due to the doping of Mg ions into the ZnO lattice.     

Nanoflare heating model for collisionless solar corona

The problem of coronal heating remains one of the greatest unresolved problems in space science. Magnetic reconnection plays a significant role in heating the solar corona. When two oppositely directed magnetic fields come closer to form a current sheet, the current density of the plasma increases due to which magnetic reconnection and conversion of magnetic energy into thermal energy takes place. The present paper deals with a model for reconnection occurring in the solar corona under steady state in collisionless regime. The model predicts that reconnection time in the solar corona varies inversely with the cube of magnetic field and varies directly with the Lindquist number. Our analysis shows that reconnections are occurring within a time interval of 600 s in the solar corona, producing nanoflares in the energy range 10 ²¹–10 ²³ erg /s which matches with Yohkoh X-ray observations.     

Exploring a hidden fermionic dark sector

In this paper, we present a generalized unified method for finding multiwave solutions of the time-fractional (2+1)-dimensional Nizhnik–Novikov–Veselov equations. The fractional derivatives are described in the modified Riemann–Liouville sense. The fractional complex transform has been suggested to convert fractional-order differential equations with modified Riemann–Liouville derivatives into integer-order differential equations, and the reduced equations can be solved by symbolic computation. Multiauxiliary equations have been introduced in this method to obtain not only multisoliton solutions but also multiperiodic or multielliptic solutions. It is shown that the considered method is very effective and convenient for solving wide classes of nonlinear partial differential equations of fractional order.     

Time-delayed chameleon: Analysis,synchronization and FPGA implementation

In this paper we report a time-delayed chameleon-like chaotic system which can belong to different families of chaotic attractors depending on the choices of parameters. Such a characteristic of self-excited and hidden chaotic flows in a simple 3D system with time delay has not been reported earlier. Dynamic analysis of the proposed time-delayed systems are analysed in time-delay space and parameter space. A novel adaptive modified functional projective lag synchronization algorithm is derived for synchronizing identical time-delayed chameleon systems with uncertain parameters. The proposed time-delayed systems and the synchronization algorithm with controllers and parameter estimates are then implemented in FPGA using hardware–software co-simulation and the results are presented.     

Extended Holomorphic Anomaly in Gauge Theory

The partition function of an N=2{\mathcal {N}=2} gauge theory in the Ω-background satisfies, for generic value of the parameter b = -e₁/e₂{\beta=-{\epsilon_1}/{\epsilon_2}} , the, in general extended, but otherwise β-independent, holomorphic anomaly equation of special geometry. Modularity together with the (β-dependent) gap structure at the various singular loci in the moduli space completely fixes the holomorphic ambiguity, also when the extension is non-trivial. In some cases, the theory at the orbifold radius, corresponding to β = 2, can be identified with an “orientifold” of the theory at β = 1. The various connections give hints for embedding the structure into the topological string.