Effect of oscillatory shear on the mechanical properties and crystalline morphology of linear low density polyethylene

In this study,effects of oscillatory shear with different frequencies(0-2.5 Hz) and amplitudes(0-20 mm) on the mechanical properties and crystalline morphology of linear low density polyethylene(LLDPE) were investigated.It was found that the mechanical properties of LLDPE are improved because of the more perfect crystalline structure when LLDPE crystallizes under low-frequency and small-amplitude(0.2 Hz/4 mm) oscillatory shear.The mechanical properties can be further improved by increasing either the frequency or the amplitude of oscillatory shear.The Young's modulus and tensile strength of LLDPE are improved by 27% and 20%,respectively,when the frequency is increased to 2.5 Hz and the amplitude is maintained at 4 mm; while the Young's modulus and tensile strength are improved by 49% and 47%,respectively,when the amplitude is increased to 20 mm and the frequency is remained as 0.2 Hz.The crystallinity and microstructure of LLDPE under different oscillatory shear conditions were investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry,wide angle X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy to shed light on the mechanism for the improvement of mechanical properties.     

Phase morphology and mechanical properties of iPP/SEP blends

The effects of the addition of diblock copolymer poly(styrene‐b‐ethylene‐co‐propylene) (SEP) to isotactic polypropylene (iPP) on the morphology and mechanical properties were investigated. Phase morphologies of iPP/SEP blends up to a 70/30 weight ratio, prepared in Brabender Plasticoder, were studied with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction. The addition of 2.5 wt % SEP caused a nucleation effect (by decreasing the crystallite and spherulite size) and randomization of the crystallites. With further SEP addition, the crystallite and spherulite size increased because of prolonged solidification and crystallization and achieved the maximum in the 80/20 iPP/SEP blend. This maximum was a result of the appearance of β spherulites and the presence of mixed α spherulites in the 80/20 iPP/SEP blend. Dispersed SEP particles were irregular and elongated clusters consisting of oval and spherical core–shell microdomains or SEP micelles. SEP clusters accommodated their shapes to interlamellar and interspherulitic regions, which enabled a well‐developed spherulitization even in the 70/30 iPP/SEP blend. The addition of SEP decreased the yield stress, elongation at yield, and Young's modulus but significantly improved the notched impact strength with respect to the strength of pure iPP at room temperature. Some theoretical models for the determination of Young's modulus of iPP/SEP blends were applied for a comparison with the experimental results. The experimental line was closest to the Takayanagi series model. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 39: 566–580, 2001     

形貌依赖的ZnO阴极射线发光性质研究

采用溶剂热法,通过调节水和乙醇混合液的比例制备了多种形貌的ZnO微米结构。利用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）对ZnO微米结构的形貌及尺寸进行了观察。采用可以实现纳米级微观区域光谱采集的阴极射线发光（CL）技术,对不同形貌的单个粒子的光谱进行精细表征,获得了位置依赖的ZnO阴极射线发光数据。实验结果表明：ZnO材料的发光性质与形貌有关,由于形貌差异导致其局部结晶质量、界面缺陷、表面电荷分布、表面晶面等方面的差异,几种因素共同作用决定其最终的发光性质。     

Side Chain Functional Conjugated Porous Polymers for NIR Controlled Carbon Dioxide Adsorption and Release

Conjugated porous polymers exhibit considerable advantage as attractive candidate for carbon dioxide(CO₂) capture. However, the regeneration of the CO₂ still faces the problem of high energy cost. Here we synthesize a near-infrared region(NIR) light responsive conjugated porous polymer(PDPP-Gu) {DPP=3,6-di(thiophen-2-yl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione} by constructing porous amorphous networks with a side chain engineering strategy to regulate CO₂ adsorption and release through photothermal conversion. The PDPP-Gu is featured by a torsional conjugated backbone as well as a functional side chain of guanidino group. The donor-acceptor configuration of PDPP-Gu afforded strong absorption in the NIR and an excellent photothermal conversion capability of up to 48.8%, as well as a high surface energy. Moreover, guanidine modified side chain further enhanced the CO₂-polymers interactions, resulting in a high CO₂ selective adsorption capacity(0.8 mmol/g) at 273 K, 1 bar(1 bar=10⁵ Pa). The adsorbed CO₂ can be released under NIR light irradiation. This strategy of molecule design combined the dual features of photothermal conversion and gas adsorption, which is beneficial for the development of materials to dynamically control the adsorption and release of CO₂ through NIR light.     

钆钪铝石榴石单晶缺陷的微观形貌与成因研究

采用提拉法生长了2%Dy³⁺和1%Tb³⁺(原子数分数)共掺的钆钪铝石榴石激光晶体(Gd₃Sc₂Al₃O₁₂, GSAG)。研究了晶体(111)晶面的腐蚀缺陷形貌并对缺陷形成机理进行了解释,讨论了晶体缺陷的特征形貌与晶体结构之间的关系。表征并计算了晶体(111)晶面的维氏硬度和莫氏硬度,在0.2 kgf载荷和10 s保荷时间条件下,晶体(111)面的维氏硬度为1 267 kg/mm²,对应的莫氏硬度为7.3。研究结果对揭示混晶石榴石晶体中缺陷的成因和探索高品质晶体生长与加工工艺具有一定的参考价值。     

Recent advances in intermixed phase of organic solar cells: Characterization,regulating strategies and device applications

Organic solar cells (OSCs) have unique advantages of low-cost solution processing, light weight, flexibility, and semitransparency, which is a promising photovoltaic technology. The intermixed phase plays a key role in determining the power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of OSCs. The intermixed phase is an amorphous region, where the donor and acceptor mix at the molecular level. Great efforts have been devoted to optimize the content and the composition of the intermixed phase. This perspective focuses on the functions of intermixed phase and elaborates the relationship between intermixed phase behavior and photophysical process, in particular, the exciton dissociation and charge transport. Then the characterization methods, including quantitative and qualitative characterizations, for the content and composition of intermixed phases are introduced. Meanwhile, this review also introduces the strategies to control the intermixed phase behavior, such as adjusting the miscibility between donor and acceptor, changing the ratio of donor to acceptor, regulating the crystallinity and so on. Moreover, representative examples are given and discussed to understand the key parameters on tuning the intermixed phase behavior. Finally, a future controlling and development of intermixed phase behavior is briefly outlooked, which may help to achieve high PCE of OSCs.     

Support Morphology Effect on Selective Hydrogenation of 3-Nitrostyrene to 3-Vinylaniline over Pt/α-Fe2O3 Catalysts

Selective hydrogenation of substituted nitroaromatic compounds is an extremely important and challenging reaction. Supported metal catalysts attract much attention in this reaction because the properties of metal nanoparticles (NPs) can be modified by the nature of the support. Herein, the support morphology on the catalytic performance of selective hydrogenation of 3-nitrostyrene to 3-vinylaniline was investigated. Pt NPs supported on octadecahedral α-Fe₂O₃ supports with a truncated hexagonal bipyramid shape (Pt/α-Fe₂O₃-O) and rod-shaped α-Fe₂O₃ supports (Pt/α-Fe₂O₃-R) were prepared by glycol reduction method. Detailed characterizations reveal that the electronic structure and dispersion of Pt NPs can be modified by the supports. The Pt/α-Fe₂O₃-O catalyst exhibited superior catalytic performance for hydrogenation of 3-nitrostyrene because of its low coordinated Pt sites and the small Pt NPs size, which is benefit from the high-index exposed surfaces of truncated hexagonal bipyramid-shaped α-Fe₂O₃ support. The structural evolution during the catalytic reaction was investigated in detail by identical location transmission electron microscopy (IL-TEM) method, which found that the high cycling activity of Pt/α-Fe₂O₃-O catalyst during the cycle experiment results from the stability of Pt NPs.     

Reversible Photoswitching in Poly(2-oxazoline) Nanoreactors

This contribution reports light responsive catalytic nanoreactors based on poly(2-oxazoline) diblock copolymers. The hydrophobic block of the copolymer is a random copolymer consisting of a spiropyran functionalized 2-oxazoline (SPOx) and 2-(but-3-yn-1-yl)-4,5-dihydrooxazole (ButynOx), while the hydrophilic block is based on 2-methyl-2-oxazoline (MeOx). The block copolymer is terminated with tris(2-aminoethyl) amine (TREN) that serves as catalyst in a Knoevenagel condensation. Four block copolymers with different ButynOx/SPOx and hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratios are synthesized and self-assembled through solvent exchange. Micelles and vesicles of various sizes are observed by TEM, which undergo morphological and size changes in response to irradiation with UV light. We hypothesize that these transformations in the nanostructures are caused by increases in the hydrophilicity of the hydrophobic block when spiropyran (SP) isomerizes to merocyanine (MC) in the presence of UV light. The reversible transition from micellar to vesicular nanoreactors resulted in increased reaction kinetics through improved substrate accessibility to the catalytic site, or termination of the catalytic reaction due to polymer precipitation. These nanoreactors present a promising platform towards photoregulating reaction outcomes based on changes in nanostructure morphology.     

Aqueous Precursor Induced Morphological Change and Improved Water Stability of CsPbBr3 Nanocrystals

In the literature, lead halide perovskites are very notable for their degradation in the presence of polar solvents, such as water. In contrast, in this research, it is observed that adding a minor amount of water into the precursor solution can improve the stability and photoluminescence quantum yield of CsPbBr₃ nanocrystals through a ligand-assisted reprecipitation (LARP) method. In this way, the shape and phase transformation from CsPbBr₃ nanoplates to CsPbBr₃/Cs₄PbBr₆ nanorods and Cs₄PbBr₆ nanowires can be controlled with increasing water content in the precursor solution. Upon adding water up to an ideal amount, CsPbBr₃ maintains its phase and nanoplate morphology. The key role of water amount for tuning the crystallinity, stability, morphology, optical properties, and phase transformation of cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals will be beneficial in the future commercialization of optoelectronics.     

Synthesis and Simulation Study of Right Silver Bipyramids via Seed-Mediated Growth cum Selective Oxidative Etching Approach

In this study, a simple method to synthesize right silver bipyramid (AgBP) nanostructures via the seed-mediated growth cum oxidative etching approach in aqueous solution is developed. The key strategy of this method is to control the growth and etching process by careful adjustment of the reactants concentration. Ascorbic acid (AA) is used to reduce silver precursor while cetyltrimethylammonium bromide stabilizer is used to direct the preferential growth of (100) facets. The presence of Cu²⁺ and AA in the reaction mixture also enable in-situ generation of H₂O₂, leading to selective etching of (111) facets, which is crucial to the formation of anisotropic AgBPs. The structure-properties of AgBPs is systematically investigated through a series of experiments and theoretical simulations. Transmission electron microscope images and X-ray diffraction patterns of the as-synthesized AgBPs show the formation of single crystalline twined nanostructures with a relatively high yield. These results suggest the important role of the excitation of electric dipole in enhancing the electric field at the six sharp corners of AgBPs, making them especially promising for a wide range of technological applications including surface-enhanced Raman scattering with a significant enhancement factor of 1.50 × 10⁵ as demonstrated herein.