Flexural contact in MEMS stiction

Adhesive force between two solid surfaces can lead to stiction failure of the micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) device. The competition between the adhesive force and the beam restoring force determines whether the stiction occurs or not. Previous models assume that the stuck beam deforms either as the arc-shape or the S-shape, which causes significant differences in the measurements of adhesion and disputations among researchers. The contact mechanics model presented in this paper shows that the assumptions of the arc-shape and S-shape on the beam deformation over-simplify the problem; both the arc-shaped deformation and S-shaped deformation significantly deviate from the real ones. The previous theories are shown to be incompatible with the recent experimental results. The model presented in this paper attempts to explain those new experimental results and resolve some disputations on the previous models. The instabilities of jump-in during loading process and jump-off during unloading process are also incorporated in this model.     

Novel WS2/Fe0.95S1.05 Hierarchical Nanosphere as a Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Fe_0.95S_1.05 with high reactivity and stability was incorporated into WS₂ nanosheets via a one-step solvothermal method for the first time. The resulted hybrid catalyst has much higher catalytic activity than WS₂ and Fe_0.95S_1.05 alone, and the optimal WS₂/Fe_0.95S_1.05 hybrid catalyst was found by adjusting the feed ratio. The addition of Fe_0.95S_1.05 was proven to be able to enhance the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity of WS₂, and vice versa. At the same time, it was found that the catalytic effect of the hybrid catalyst was the best when the feed ratio was W : Fe=2 : 1. In other words, we confirmed that there is a synergistic effect between W- and Fe-based sulfide hybrid catalysts, and validated that the reason for the improved HER performance is the strong interaction between the two in the middle sulfur. WS₂/Fe_0.95S_1.05-2 hybrid catalyst leads to enhanced HER activity, which shows a low overpotential of ∼0.172 V at 10 mA cm⁻², low Tafel slope of ∼53.47 mV/decade. This study supplies innovative synthesis of a highly active WS₂/Fe_0.95S_1.05 hybrid catalyst for HER.     

A Porphyrin-Based Covalent Organic Framework for Metal-Free Photocatalytic Aerobic Oxidative Coupling of Amines

Imines are important intermediates in drug synthesis. Photocatalytic aerobic oxidative coupling of amines has been considered as a clean and promising way to produce imines and has attracted great attention. Herein, we designed and synthesized a novel two-dimensional porphyrin-based covalent organic framework (Por-BC-COF) which adopts an AA stacking mode with excellent crystallinity, high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface areas (1200 m² g⁻¹), wide light absorption range (200–1300 nm) and good stability in a variety of organic solvents. Por-BC-COF can be used as a metal-free heterogeneous photocatalyst for the photocatalytic oxidation of amines to imines under visible light and red light with a high yield (97 %). This work presents a novel and efficient COF photocatalyst in the application of light-driven organic synthesis.     

Partial Hydrolysis of Cyanide Coordination Polymers Induced by a Pillar Ligand with Optimized Electrochemical Kinetics for Rechargeable Alkaline Batteries

Coordination polymers are promising cathode materials for rechargeable alkaline batteries. Therefore, the precise modulation of these cathodes by chemical structure and in-depth structure transform study is necessary. Here, two model coordination polymer battery cathodes were designed to demonstrate the dynamic structure–performance relationship. We studied the electrochemical performance of two kinds of nickel-based coordination polymer, comprising a planar 2D cyanide-bridged network and a 3D cyanide-bridged network pillared by pyrazine molecules. The 2D coordination polymer showed serious voltage degradation with poor rate capability, whereas the 3D coordination polymer exhibited stable voltage output coupled with high rate at various current densities. The investigation revealed the underlining relationship of plateau voltage degradation and hydrolysis process of electrodes. It was revealed that the pyrazine pillar molecules in the 3D coordination polymer could suppress the hydrolysis and lead to the in situ formation of partially hydrolyzed structure with excellent electrochemical kinetics; this exhibited obvious smaller peak separation (27 mV compared with 149 mV) and hence an almost twofold increase in capacity retention (31.9 to 50.0 %) and energy density retention (18.2 to 35.9 %) at 10 A g⁻¹.     

The Synthesis of 1-Phenoxy-3- Arylseleno-2-Propanol

A general and efficient synthetic method of 1-phenoxy-3-arylseleno-2-propanol by reducing diary1 diselenides with sodium borohydride in basic environment and their reaction with epoxypropoxyphenols are described.     

Triterpenoids with Cytotoxicity from Abelia engleriana

Chemistry of Natural Compounds -     

KCl-assisted,chemically reduced graphene oxide for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Graphene with highly flaky state has been successfully prepared through chemical reduction process with the assistance of potassium chloride (KCl) to...     

Reconstruction of physics objects at the Circular Electron Positron Collider with Arbor

After the Higgs discovery, precise measurements of the Higgs properties and the electroweak observables become vital for the experimental particle physics. A powerful Higgs/Z factory, the Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC) is proposed. The Particle Flow oriented detector design is proposed to the CEPC and a Particle Flow algorithm, Arbor is optimized accordingly. We summarize the physics object reconstruction performance of the Particle Flow oriented detector design with Arbor algorithm and conclude that this combination fulfills the physics requirement of CEPC.     

Chaos in social learning with multiple true states

Most existing social learning models assume that there is only one underlying true state. In this work, we consider a social learning model with multiple true states, in which agents in different groups receive different signal sequences generated by their corresponding underlying true states. Each agent updates his belief by combining his rational self-adjustment based on the external signals he received and the influence of his neighbors according to their communication. We observe chaotic oscillation in the belief evolution, which implies that neither true state could be learnt correctly by calculating the largest Lyapunov exponents and Hurst exponents.     

Direct dynamics study of the hydrogen abstraction reaction of CF3CH2Cl + Cl → CF3CHCl + HCl

The hydrogen abstraction reaction of Cl atoms with CF₃CH₂Cl (HCFC‐133a) is investigated by using density function theory and ab initio approach, and the rate constants are calculated by using the dual‐level direct dynamics method. Optimized geometries and frequencies of reactants, transition state, and products are computed at the B3LYP/6‐311+G(2d,2p) level. To refine the energetic information along the minimum energy path, single‐point energy calculations are carried out at the G3(MP2) level of theory. The interpolated single‐point energy method is employed to correct the energy profiles for the title reaction. The rate constants are evaluated by using the canonical variational transition state theory with a small‐curvature tunneling correction over a wide range of temperature, 200–2000 K. The variational effect for the reaction is moderate at low temperatures and very small at high temperatures. However, the tunneling correction has an important contribution in the lower temperature range. The agreement between calculated rate constants and available experimental values is good at lower temperatures but diverges significantly at higher temperatures. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 44: 661–667, 2012