Ultrasonic transducers using electron-irradiated vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene copolymers

Single-element, planar transducers have been fabricated using electron-irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) 80/20 mol% copolymers with different electron dosage. Electrical field-induced strain response of copolymer film with 100 Mrad dosage has been studied at 5 kHz and the electrostrictive coefficient was calculated. The transmitting response of the air-backing and epoxy-backing transducers was evaluated with the application of high DC bias voltages. Clear ultrasonic amplitudes and high frequency spectrum (>20 MHz) were observed when driven from a standard ultrasonic voltage source through a decoupling circuit. It has also showed that larger generation of ultrasonic waves will be induced under high DC bias field, which is due to the increase of induced d(33) piezoelectric coefficient. Two different polar bias voltages, positive and negative, were applied to the transducers and inverse waveforms were received, which was coincident with the theoretical analysis of the strain response of electrostrictive film.     

Soft‐Chemical Exfoliation Route to Layered Cobalt Oxide Monolayers and Its Application for Film Deposition and Nanoparticle Synthesis

A colloidal suspension of exfoliated, layered cobalt oxide nanosheets has been synthesized through the intercalation of quaternary tetramethylammonium ions into protonated lithium cobalt oxide. According to atomic force microscopy, exfoliated nanosheets of layered cobalt oxide show a plateau‐like height profile with nanometer‐level height, underscoring the formation of unilamellar 2D nanosheets. The exfoliation of layered cobalt oxide was cross‐confirmed by X‐ray diffraction, UV/Vis spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The maintenance of the hexagonal in‐plane structure of the cobalt oxide lattice after the exfoliation process was evidenced by selected‐area electron diffraction and Co K‐edge X‐ray absorption near‐edge structure analysis. The zeta‐potential measurements clearly demonstrated the negative surface charge of cobalt oxide nanosheets. Adopting the nanosheets of layered cobalt oxide as a precursor, we were able to prepare the monodisperse CoO nanocrystals with a particle size of ≈10 nm as well as the heterolayered film composed of cobalt oxide monolayer and polycation.     

Non-aqueous spectrophotometric determination of citric acid

A non-aqueous spectrophotometric method is described for the determination of citric acid in the presence of carboxylic acids and lactic acid. The method was developed as a result of critical evaluation of the Furth-Herrmann color reaction in a non-aqueous pyridine-acetic anhydride solution. The optimum conditions are described. The absorbance is read at 389 ± 2 mμ. The minimum concentration of citric acid that can accurately be determined is about 2 μg per sample.     

Isostructural or not? Adducts of some aryl­tin halides with (E)‐1,2‐bis(4‐pyridyl)­ethene

The title complexes [μ‐(E)‐4,4′‐(ethene‐1,2‐diyl)­di­pyridine‐κ²N:N′]­bis­[halotris(4‐methyl­phenyl)­tin(IV)], [Sn₂(C₇H₇)₆X₂(C₁₂H₁₀N₂)], where halo is chloro (X = Cl) and bromo (X = Br) are isostructural. In both crystals, the mol­ecules lie on inversion centers, and there are voids of ca 80 ų that could, but apparently do not, accommodate water mol­ecules. The corresponding iodo structure (X = I) is almost, but not quite, isostructural with the other two compounds; when Br is changed to I, the length of the c axis decreases by more than 1 Å and the voids are no longer large enough to accomodate any solvent mol­ecule. The related complex [μ‐(E)‐4,4′‐(ethene‐1,2‐diyl)­di­pyridine‐κ²N:N′]­bis­[chloro­tri­phenyl­tin(IV)], [Sn₂(C₆H₅)₆Cl₂(C₁₂H₁₀N₂)], crystallizes in a related structure, but the mol­ecules lie on general rather than on special positions. The molecular structures of the four complexes are similar, but the conformation of the phenyl derivative is approximately eclipsed rather than staggered.     

Pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE)

Pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) has become a popular green extraction method for different classes of compounds present in numerous kinds of matrices such as environmental, food and botanical samples. PHWE is also used in sample preparation to extract organic contaminants from foodstuff for food safety analysis and soils/sediments for environmental monitoring purposes. The main parameters which influence its extraction efficiency are namely the temperature, extraction time, flow rates and addition of modifiers/additives. Among these different parameters studied, temperature is described as the most important one. It is reported that the extraction of certain compounds is rather dependent on pressurized water with different applied temperature. Thus, the stability and reduced solubilities of certain compounds at elevated temperatures are highlighted in this review. With some modifications, a scaled-up PHWE could extract a higher amount of desirable compounds from solid and powdered samples such as plant and food materials. The PHWE extracts from plants are rich in chemical compounds or metabolites which can be a potential lead for drug discovery or development of disease-resistant food crops.     

Elastic modulus and thermal conductivity of ultradrawn polyethylene

The axial and transverse Young's modulus and thermal conductivity of gel and single crystal mat polyethylene with draw ratios λ = 1–350 have been measured from 160 to 360 K. The axial Young's modulus increases sharply with increasing λ, whereas the transverse modulus shows a slight decrease. The thermal conductivity exhibits a similar behavior. At λ = 350, the axial Young's modulus and thermal conductivity are, respectively, 20% and three times higher than those of steel. For this ultradrawn material both the magnitude and the temperature dependence of the axial Young's modulus are close to those of polyethylene crystal. The high values of the axial Young's modulus and thermal conductivity arise from the presence of a large percentage (∼85%) of long needle crystals. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 3359–3367, 1999     

Trivalent atom contribution on solid-solid transformation of Ga13 polycation intercalated clay into sodalite investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Solid-solid transformation mechanism of Ga Keggin-type ion intercalated clay into sodalite has been clarified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR spectroscopy, and X-rayabsorption spectroscopy (XAS). To follow the structural evolution precisely by XANES and EXAFS, the XAS active element containing polycation [Ga13O4(OH)24(H2O)12]7+ was intercalated into montmorillonite (MMT). FT-IR and XAS spectra confirm that the formation of sodalite framework is initiated by the delocalized rearrangement between silicate networks and collapsed interlayered Ga species, and is followed by the incorporation of Al in the octahedral sheet of clay (MMT). According to the XAS studies, it is found that the formation of Ga(Al)-O-Si species is strongly influenced by the trivalent cations, which are rapidly changed in the environment, followed by reaction with the silicate network of clay during the solid-solid transformation.     

Thermal diffusivity of polymer films by pulsed photothermal radiometry

We have developed a pulsed photothermal radiometry technique for determining the thermal diffusivity parallel to the surface of a polymer film that involves flashing a line-shaped laser beam on the surface of the sample at right angle to its length, and monitoring the temperature change with time at a distance from the line source using an infrared detector. Combining this with our previous laser-flash radiometry method for thermal diffusivity measurement perpendicular to the film surface, we can now measure the thermal diffusivity of a polymer film along all directions. These two techniques have been used to study uniaxially and biaxially oriented poly(ethylene terephalate) and uniaxially drawn ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene films. For uniaxially oriented poly(ethylene terephalate), the thermal diffusivity along the draw direction is substantially higher than that in the transverse direction, which in turn, is slightly higher than that in the thickness direction. For a polyethylene film with a draw ratio of 200, the axial thermal diffusivity is extremely high, being about five times that of stainless steel. The anisotropy of the thermal diffusivity of this film exceeds 90. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35 : 1621–1631, 1997     

Dopant-free NiOx Nanocrystals: A Low-cost and Stable Hole Transport Material for Commercializing Perovskite Optoelectronics

Advancing inverted (p-i-n) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is critical for commercial applications given their compatibility with different bottom cells for tandem photovoltaics, low-temperature processability (≤100 °C), and promising operational stability. Although inverted PSCs have achieved an efficiency of over 25 % using doped or expensive organic hole transport materials (HTMs), their synthesis cost and stability still cannot meet the requirements for their commercialization. Recently, dopant-free and low-cost non-stoichiometric nickel oxide nanocrystals (NiO_x NCs) have been extensively studied as a low-cost and effective HTM in perovskite optoelectronics. In this minireview, we summarize the synthesis and surface-functionalization methods of NiO_x NCs. Then, the applications of NiO_x NCs in other perovskite optoelectronics beyond photovoltaics are discussed. Finally, we provide a perspective for the future development of NiO_x NCs for the commercialization of perovskite optoelectronics.