Anodic Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Iron(II) at a Carbon Paste Electrode Modified with Dithiodianiline (DTDA) and Gold Nanoparticles (GNP)

A differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetric procedure was developed for the determination of trace amounts of iron(II) in the presence of iron(III) at a carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified with dithiodianiline and gold nanoparticle. At the pH working of 3.0, a wide concentration range from 0.1 nM to 100 nM was observed with the detection limit of 0.05 nM. The relative standard deviation for a solution containing 50 nM of iron(II) was found to be 3.11 % (n=9). Possible interferences from the coexisting ions were also investigated. The validity of the method and applicability of the sensor were successfully tested by determining of iron(II) in lentil, wheat seed and barley seed samples.     

Application of a Carbon‐Paste Electrode Modified with 2,7‐Bis(ferrocenyl ethyl)fluoren‐9‐one and Carbon Nanotubes for Voltammetric Determination of Levodopa in the Presence of Uric Acid and Folic Acid

A carbon‐paste electrode modified with 2,7‐bis(ferrocenyl ethyl)fluoren‐9‐one and carbon nanotubes was used for the sensitive voltammetric determination of levodopa (LD). The electrochemical response characteristics of the modified electrode toward LD, uric acid (UA) and folic acid (FA) were investigated. The results showed an efficient catalytic activity of the electrode for the electrooxidation of LD, which leads to lowering its overpotential by more than 320 mV. The modified electrode exhibits an efficient electron mediating behavior together with well‐separated oxidation peaks for LD, UA and FA. Also, the modified electrode was used for determination of LD in some real samples.     

Nontrivial tensile behavior of rutile TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanowires: a molecular dynamics study

In this paper, we study the tensile behavior of cylindrical rutile TiO₂ nanowires, employing molecular dynamics (MD) simulation technique. The third-generation charge optimized many-body (COMB3) has been used for interatomic potential modeling. The influence of temperature and nanowire diameter on Young’s modulus is investigated. Our simulations exhibit the anisotropic behavior of Young’s modulus as a function of diameter for different crystallographic orientations. Although our results are in good accord with the existing results in [1 0 0] direction, Young’s modulus adds up monotonically with increasing the cross-sectional diameter of nanowire in [0 0 1] direction. It is found that Young’s modulus of the nanowires are lower (higher) than the bulk value for [0 0 1] ([1 0 0]) direction. Furthermore, simulation results also indicate that Young’s modulus of rutile TiO₂ nanowire increases as a function of temperature for a given diameter, unexpectedly. The obtained results may be useful in the field of nanotechnology for optimizing mechanical performance to gain specific applications.     

Frequency domain finite-element and spectral-element acoustic wave modeling using absorbing boundaries and perfectly matched layer

Wave propagation modeling as a vital tool in seismology can be done via several different numerical methods among them are finite-difference, finite-element, and spectral-element methods (FDM, FEM and SEM). Some advanced applications in seismic exploration benefit the frequency domain modeling. Regarding flexibility in complex geological models and dealing with the free surface boundary condition, we studied the frequency domain acoustic wave equation using FEM and SEM. The results demonstrated that the frequency domain FEM and SEM have a good accuracy and numerical efficiency with the second order interpolation polynomials. Furthermore, we developed the second order Clayton and Engquist absorbing boundary condition (CE-ABC2) and compared it with the perfectly matched layer (PML) for the frequency domain FEM and SEM. In spite of PML method, CE-ABC2 does not add any additional computational cost to the modeling except assembling boundary matrices. As a result, considering CE-ABC2 is more efficient than PML for the frequency domain acoustic wave propagation modeling especially when computational cost is high and high-level absorbing performance is unnecessary.     

Sensitive and Selective Detection of Antibiotic D-Penicillamine Based on a Dual-Mode Probe of Fluorescent Carbon Dots and Gold Nanoparticles

This paper reported a dual-mode probe for D-penicillamine on the basis of pH-mediated gold nanoparticles aggregation and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from carbon dots. D-penicillamine is a zwitterionic compound and has different forms depending on specific pH ranges. The thiol group of D-penicillamine has high affinity towards the surface of gold nanoparticles and can replace other surface ligands. When pH values were close to its isoelectrical point (pH(I)), the D-penicillamine capped gold nanoparticles aggregated through hydrogen bonding or electrostatic interactions, resulting in the releasing of carbon dots from gold nanoparticles. The dual-mode probe consisted of fluorescent carbon dots and gold nanoparticles, and the fluorescence of carbon dots was quenched by the attached gold nanoparticles due to the FRET. Then, the fluorescence can be recovered in presence of D-penicillamine due to the gold nanoparticles aggregation in specific pH range. Under the optimum conditions, the probe has linear response for D-penicillamine in the 0.25–1.5 μM concentration range with a detection limit of 0.085 μM. This method provides a potential application in sensitive detection of D-penicillamine.     

Thermally reused solar energy harvesting using current mirror cells

This paper implements a simultaneous solar and thermal energy harvesting system, as a hybrid energy harvesting (HEH) system, to convert ambient light into electrical energy through photovoltaic (PV) cells and heat absorbed in the body of PV cells. Indeed, a solar panel equipped with serially connected thermoelectric generators not only converts the incoming light into electricity but also takes advantage of heat emanating from the light. In a conventional HEH system, the diode block is used to provide the path for the input source with the highest value. In this scheme, at each time, only one source can be handled to generate its output, while other sources are blocked. To handle this challenge of combining resources in HEH systems, this paper proposes a method for collecting all incoming energies and conveying its summation to the load via the current mirror cells in an approach similar to the maximum power point tracking. This technique is implemented using off-the-shelf components. The measurement results show that the proposed method is a realistic approach for supplying electrical energy to wireless sensor nodes and low-power electronics.     

相位可控的氟钪纳米晶的合成及其上转换发光性能

控制反应条件如表面活性剂的组成、加入量或反应时间,可以制得不同形态、相结构且具有上转换发光(UCL)的氟钪纳米晶(NCs)。改变表面活性剂油酸(OA)/油胺(OM)的比例有利于晶体结构从立方相ScF_3∶Yb,Er转变为具有上转换发光性能增强的正交相KSc_2F_7∶Yb,Er纳米晶,而纳米晶的形态会发生从小到大的转变。改变掺杂元素的种类及含量,在980 nm光激发下,KSc_2F_7纳米晶的上转换发光可以从蓝色变到白色,再到主要发射紫色光。     

High Ionic Conductivity Motivated by Multiple Ion-Transport Channels in 2D MOF-Based Lithium Solid State Battery

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been proposed as novel fillers for constructing polymer solid electrolytes based composite electrolytes. However, MOFs are generally used as passive fillers, in-depth revealing the binding mode between MOFs and polyethylene oxide (PEO), the critical role of MOFs in facilitating Li⁺ transport in solid electrolytes is full of challenges. Herein, inspired by density functional theory (DFT) the 2D-MOF with rich unsaturated metal coordination sites that can bind the O atom in PEO through the metal–oxygen bond,  anchor TFSI⁻ to release Li⁺, resulting in a remarkable Li⁺ transference number of 0.58, is reported according well with the experimental results and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Impressively, after the introduction of the 2D-MOF, the Li⁺ can rapidly hop along the benzene ring center within the 2D-MOF plane, and the interface between the benzene ring and PEO can also serve as a fast Li⁺ migration pathway, delivering multiple ion-transport channels, which present a high ion conductivity of 4.6 × 10⁻⁵ S cm⁻¹ (25 °C). The lithium symmetric battery is stable for 1300 h at 60 °C, 0.1 mA cm⁻². The assembled lithium metal solid state battery maintains high capacity of 162.8 mAh g⁻¹ after 500 cycles at 60 °C and 0.5 C. This multiple ion-transport channels approach brings new ideas for designing advanced solid electrolytes.     

Exploration of Metal Alloys as Zero-Resistance Interfacial Modification Layers for Garnet-Type Solid Electrolytes

A solid-state battery with a lithium-metal anode and a garnet-type solid electrolyte has been widely regarded as one of the most promising solutions to boost the safety and energy density of current lithium-ion batteries. However, lithiophobic property of garnet-type solid electrolytes hinders the establishment of a good physical contact with lithium metal, bringing about a large lithium/garnet interfacial resistance that has remained as the greatest issue facing their practical application in solid-state batteries. Herein, a melt-quenching approach is developed by which varieties of interfacial modification layers based on metal alloys can be coated uniformly on the surface of the garnet. It is demonstrated that with an ultrathin, lithiophilic AgSn_0.6Bi_0.4O_x coating the interfacial resistance can be eliminated, and a dendrite-free lithium plating and stripping on the lithium/garnet interface can be achieved at a high current density of 20 mA cm⁻². The results reveal that the uniform coating on the garnet surface and the facile lithium diffusion through the coating layer are two major reasons for the excellent electrochemical performances. The all-solid-state full cell consisting of the surface modified garnet-type solid electrolyte with a LiNi_0.8Mn_0.1Co_0.1O₂ cathode and a lithium–metal anode maintains 86% of its initial capacity after 1000 stable cycles at 1 C.