Electrochemical performance of modified artificial graphite as anode material for lithium ion batteries

Artificial graphite anode material was modified by coating an amorphous carbon layer on the particle surface via a sol-gel and pyrolysis route. The electrochemical measurements demonstrate that appropriate carbon coating can increase the specific capacity and the initial coulombic efficiency of the graphite material, while excessive carbon coating leads to the decrease in specific capacity. Thick coating layer is obviously unfavorable for the lithium ion diffusion due to the increased diffusion distance, but the decreased specific surface area caused by carbon coating is beneficial to the decrease of initial irreversible capacity loss. The sample coated with 5 wt.% glucose exhibits a stable specific capacity of 340 mAhg^?1. Carbon coating can remarkably enhance the rate capability of the graphite anode material, which is mainly attributed to the increased diffusion coefficient of lithium ion.     

Effects of locally resonant modes on underwater sound absorption in viscoelastic materials

Recently, by introducing locally resonant scatterers with spherical shape proposed in phononic crystals into design of underwater sound absorption materials, the low-frequency underwater sound absorption phenomenon induced by the localized resonances is observed. To reveal this absorption mechanism, the effect of the locally resonant mode on underwater sound absorption should be studied. In this paper, the finite element method, which is testified efficiently by comparing the calculation results with those of the layer multiple scattering method, is introduced to investigate the dynamic modes and the corresponding sound absorption of localized resonance. The relationship between the resonance modes described with the displacement contours of one unit cell and the corresponding absorption spectra is discussed in detail, which shows that the localized resonance leads to the absorption peak, and the mode conversion from longitudinal to transverse waves at the second absorption peak is more efficient than that at the first one. Finally, to show the modeling capability of FEM and investigate shape effects of locally resonant scatterers on underwater sound absorption, the absorption properties of viscoelastic materials containing locally resonant scatterers with ellipsoidal shape are discussed.     

相对论平均场理论中的有效超子-核子相互作用

利用相对论平均场理论,结合单超核的实验数据,研究了核介质中的Λ超子–核子有效相互作用.通过符合13ΛC超核中Λ超子1s轨道的结合能实验值,给出了5组Λ超子–核子有效相互作用参数.利用这些参数组对质量数从9到2?0?8的单Λ超核和核物质中最低Λ态的束缚能进行了系统计算,得到的结果与实验值相符.     

TiO2 Nanotube Array/Monolayer Graphene Film Schottky Junction Ultraviolet Light Photodetectors

Schottky junctions made from a titanium dioxide nanotube (TiO₂NT) array in contact with a monolayer graphene (MLG) film are fabricated and utilized for UV light detection. The TiO₂NT array is synthesized by the anodization and the MLG through a simple chemical vapor deposition process. Photoconductive analysis shows that the fabricated Schottky junction photodetector (PD) is sensitive to UV light illumination with good stability and reproducibility. The corresponding responsivity (R), photoconductive gain (G), and detectivity (D*) are calculated to be 15 A W^?1, 51, and 1.5 × 10¹² cm Hz^1/2 W^?1, respectively. It is observed that the fabricated PD exhibits spectral sensitivity and a simple power‐law dependence on light intensity. Moreover, the height of the Schottky junction diode is derived to be 0.59 V by using a low temperature I–V measurement. Finally, the working mechanism of the TiO₂NT array/MLG film Schottky junction PD is elucidated.     

Identification of functionally key residues in maltose transporter with an elastic network model-based thermodynamic method

Periplasmic binding protein-dependent maltose transport system (MBP-MalFGK₂) of Escherichia coli, an important member of the Adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette transporter superfamily, is in charge of the transportation of maltoses across cellular membrane. Studies have shown that this transport processes are activated by the binding of maltose and are accompanied by large-scale cooperative movements between different domains which are mediated by a network of important residues related to signal transduction and allosteric regulation. In this paper, the functionally crucial residues and long-range allosteric pathway of the regulation of the system by substrate were identified by utilising a coarse-grained thermodynamic method proposed by our group. The residues whose perturbations markedly change the binding free energy between maltoses and MBP-MalFGK₂ were considered to be key residues. In result, the key residues in 62 clusters distributed in different subdomains were identified successfully, and the results from our calculation are highly consistent with experimental and theoretical observations. Furthermore, we explored the long-range cooperation within the transporter. These studies will help us better understand the physical mechanism of the effects of the maltose on MBP-MalFGK₂ by long-range allosteric modulation.     

Large Strain Tensile Deformation and Failure in Oriented Isotactic Polypropylene/Clay Nanocomposite: Role of Voiding and Molecular Orientation

Plane strain compression of isotactic polypropylene iPP)/clay nanocomposite in a channel die at 140 and 160°C, respectively, has been adopted to prepare oriented samples with well-controlled structure for comparative studies. Molecular orientation in the amorphous phase, independent of clay loadings, decreases with increasing preparation temperature, whereas crystallographic orientation is nearly the same for all oriented samples. Severer voiding and void coalescence during stretching, mostly induced by the crystals and inter-chain sliding in the amorphous phase, respectively, is suggested to be responsible for higher volume dilatation and lower failure strain in the oriented samples prepared at higher temperature (e.g., 160°C). Fracture toughness is well correlated with the molecular orientation and crystal-dependent voiding in the oriented samples with respect to preparation temperatures. Furthermore, debonding of clay in the iPP matrix, especially in the oriented samples prepared at 140°C, is another contributor to the enhanced toughness.     

Modeling natural gas market volatility using GARCH with different distributions

In this paper, we model natural gas market volatility using GARCH-class models with long memory and fat-tail distributions. First, we forecast price volatilities of spot and futures prices. Our evidence shows that none of the models can consistently outperform others across different criteria of loss functions. We can obtain greater forecasting accuracy by taking the stylized fact of fat-tail distributions into account. Second, we forecast volatility of basis defined as the price differential between spot and futures. Our evidence shows that nonlinear GARCH-class models with asymmetric effects have the greatest forecasting accuracy. Finally, we investigate the source of forecasting loss of models. Our findings based on a detrending moving average indicate that GARCH models cannot capture multifractality in natural gas markets. This may be the plausible explanation for the source of model forecasting losses.     

New Properties of the Wigner Function of the Tripartite Entangled State

For entangled three particles one should treat their wave function as a whole, there is no physical meaning talking about the wave function (or Wigner function) for any one of the tripartite, therefore thinking of the entangled Wigner function (Wigner operator) is of necessity, we introduce the entangled Wigner operator related to a pair of mutually conjugate tripartite entangled state representations and discuss some of its new properties, such as the trace product rule, the size of an entangled quantum state and the upper bound of the three-mode Wigner function. Deriving wave function from its corresponding tripartite entangled Wigner function is also presented. Those new properties of the tripartite entangled Wigner function play significant role in quantum physics because they provide us deeper insight into the shape of quantum states.     

基于1–10GHz空地链路信号的雨强监测方法可行性研究

空地链路上的微波信号受降雨影响, 会产生功率衰减和去极化效应. 基于这些物理特性, 本文提出利用1–10 GHz空地链路信号的降雨干扰项获取雨强的方法, 并开展了相关理论研究. 根据空地链路信号与雨滴复杂的相互作用, 研究了空地链路信号频率为1–10 GHz时, 雨强 (rain rate, R) 对衰减 (attenuation, A) 和交叉极化分辨率 (cross-polarization discrimination, XPD)的影响, 分别建立了A-R和XPD-R关系模型. 通过数值模拟, 分别分析了利用上述两个关系模型估测雨强的可行性, 并系统研究了不同频率、极化方式和仰角条件下的适用性. 研究结果表明, 对于水平极化或圆极化, 且频率较高的空地链路信号, 利用A-R关系反演强降雨具有理论上的可行性; 对于不同频率和极化方式的信号, XPD-R关系模型都可以用于反演雨强, 并且对于1–50 mm·h^-1范围内的雨强, XPD较为敏感; 不同仰角条件下, A-R和XPD-R 模型都适用. 在4–10 GHz时, 本文的XPD-R模型和国际电信联盟ITU-R中XPD预测模型的结果非常接近. 所得出的结论对于下一步开展相关的验证实验, 拓展卫星系统的气象应用, 实时估测降雨强度, 实现全球降雨观测具有重要的参考价值. 关键词： 空地链路信号 雨强 衰减特性 交叉极化分辨率(XPD)