Synthesis and characterization of non-transformable tetragonal YSZ nanopowder by means of Pechini method for thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) applications

A simple soft chemical method of synthesizing tetragonal yttria stabilized zirconia nanopowders is described here. Zirconium oxy-chloride octahydrate and yttrium nitrate hexahydrate were taken as a source of zirconium, citric acid was taken as a chelating agent, and ethylene glycol was used as a polysterification agent. The synthesized powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, precise cell parameters were calculated in order to exactly determine non-transformable tetragonal crystal structure, which was the best zirconia phase for thermal barrier coatings applications. In this process, tetragonal yttria stabilized zirconia nanopowders could be prepared at a temperature of 1,000 °C and the process was simple and cost-effective.     

Si-decorated graphene: a superior media for lithium-ions storage

The characteristics of lithium adsorption on Si-decorated graphene are investigated using first-principles density functional theory calculations. It is found that the Si atom is strongly adsorbed at the bridge site of the C–C bond with binding energy of about ?26.75 kcal/mol. We show that Si decorating turns Si:graphene complex into an electron-deficient system and significantly enhances the Li-storage capacity on the graphene. The obtained results indicate that up to eight Li-ions being adsorbed onto the Si-decorated graphene can form the stable complex. It is found, interestingly, that two Si atoms coated onto double-side of the graphene can strongly adsorb sixteen Li-ions. The analyses of electronic structures show a strong interaction between Li-ions and Si-decorated graphene leading to a high exothermicity. The stability of the sixteen Li-ions adsorbed on the Si:graphene system was evaluated with ab initio molecular dynamics simulation which have been carried out at room temperature. Our first-principles results are relevant to identify the potential applications of Si-decorated graphene as superior media for Li-ions storage.     

Tungstate Sulfuric Acid: A Novel and Efficient Solid Acidic Reagent for the Oxidation of Thiols to Disulfides and the Oxidative Demasking of 1,3-Dithianes

Tungstate sulfuric acid in combination with various oxidants was found to be an efficient reagent for the conversion of thiols to disulfides at r.t. in good to excellent yields. The selective oxidative deprotection of 1,3-dithianes to their parent carbonyl compounds at r.t. was also observed with this reagent.     

A novel deep submicron SiGe-on-insulator (SGOI) MOSFET with modified channel band energy for electrical performance improvement

In this paper, we present the unique features exhibited by a novel nanoscale SiGe-on-insulator metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) with modified channel band energy. The key idea in this work is to modify the band energy in the channel for improving electrical performances. Graded Ge composition profile is employed in the channel that leads to call the proposed structure as GC-SGOI structure. Using two-dimensional two-carrier simulation we demonstrate that the GC-SGOI structure has higher saturation velocity in comparison with stepped (SC-SGOI) and uniform (UC-SGOI) germanium composition due to the high conduction and valence bands slopes by using graded Ge composition profile. Also, our results show that the GC-SGOI exhibit excellent properties not only higher mobility, drain current and saturation velocity but also hot electron degradation improvement and better reliability. Therefore, refer to the results, the GC-SGOI structure has superior performances in comparison with the SC- and UC-SGOI structures which leads to be a good candidate for VLSI circuits.