Channel regulation of TFC membrane with hydrophobic carbon dots in forward osmosis

Zero-dimensional carbon dots have emerged as important nanofillers for the separation membrane due to their small specific size and rich surface functional groups. This study proposed a strategy based on hydrophobic carbon dots (HCDs) to regulate water channels for an efficient forward osmosis (FO) membrane. Thin-film composite (TFC) membranes with superior FO performance are fabricated by introducing HCDs as the nanofiller in the polyacrylonitrile support layer. The introduction of HCDs promotes the formation of the support layer with coherent finger-like hierarchical channels and micro-convex structure and an integrated polyamide active layer. Compared to the original membrane, TFC-FO membrane with 10 wt% HCDs exhibits high water flux (15.47 L m⁻² h⁻¹) and low reverse salt flux (2.9 g m⁻² h⁻¹) using 1 mol/L NaCl as the draw solution. This improved FO performance is attributed to the lower structural parameters of HCDs-induced water channels and alleviated internal concentration polarization. Thus, this paper provides a feasible strategy to design the membrane structure and boost FO performance.     

Voltage-Mediated Water Dynamics Enables On-Demand Transport of Sugar Molecules in Two-Dimensional Channels

The constructing of artificial channels with gating functions is an important undertaking for gaining insight into biological process and achieving efficient bionic functions. Typically, controllable transport within such channels relies on either electrostatic or specific interactions between the transporting species and the channel. However, for molecules with weak interactions with the channel, achieving precise gating of the transport remains a significant challenge. In this regard, this study proposes a voltage gating membrane of two-dimensional channels that selectively transport of neutral molecules glucose with a dimension of 0.60 nm. The permeation of glucose is switched on/off by electrochemically manipulating the water dynamics in the nanochannel. Voltage driven-intercalation of ion into the two-dimensional channel causes water to stratify and move closer to the channel walls, thereby resulting in the channel center being emptier for glucose diffusion. Due to the sub-nanometer size dimension of the channel, selective permeation of glucose over sucrose is also achieved in this approach.     

Channel confined active nematics

Active nematics is a popular model fluid for active matter. The popularity comes from the fact that several biological systems involving cells and cytoskeletal elements closely match active nematic fluid. Moreover, the theory of active nematics is amenable for analytical and computational developments. This review discusses different flow states and flow transitions exhibited by channel confined active nematics. The discussions based on experimental and theoretical investigations reveal the role of inherent hydrodynamic instabilities, the unique fluid properties, and the bounding geometry in dictating the behavior of active nematic fluids in channel confinements. The discussions also highlight the current and outstanding research questions in the field.     

自组装半导体碳纳米管薄膜的光电特性

采用自组装的方法制备99%高纯度半导体碳纳米管平行阵列条带,以金属钯和钪为非对称接触电极制备碳纳米管（CNT）薄膜晶体管（TFTs）器件. 主要研究不同沟道长度碳纳米管薄膜晶体管器件的电输运特性和红外光电响应特性,分析了其中的载流子输运和光生载流子分离的物理机制. 我们发现薄膜晶体管器件的电学性能和光电性能依赖于器件沟道长度（L）和碳纳米管的平均长度（L_CNT）. 当沟道长度小于碳纳米管的平均长度时,器件开关比最低;当沟道长度超过碳纳米管平均长度时,随着沟道长度的增加,器件开关比增加,光电流减小.相关研究结果为高纯碳纳米管薄膜晶体管器件在红外光探测器方面的进一步应用提供参考依据.     

Decode-and-forward with quadrature spatial modulation in the presence of imperfect channel estimation

The performance of quadrature spatial modulation (QSM) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system with cooperative decode and forward (DF) relays is analyzed in this paper. QSM is a new MIMO transmission technique that enhances the overall performance of conventional spatial modulation through exploiting quadrature spatial dimension. A practical scenario is considered where the channel is estimated at the relays and the destination and the impact of channel estimation error is investigated. Two cooperative systems are considered in the study. In the first system, multiple single-antenna DF relays are assumed, whereas, in the second system, single multiple-antennas DF relay is considered. For both systems, an analytical expression for the pair wise error probability (PEP) is obtained. As well, an asymptotic expression for the PEP at high and pragmatic signal to noise ratio is derived. Derived expressions are used to provide an upper bound on the average bit error ratio. The derived analysis is corroborated through Monte Carlo simulations and results demonstrate a close-match for a wide range of SNR values.     

The effect of gradually constricted channel on the I–V characteristics of graphene sheets

Ideal graphene is a gapless semiconductor consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms regularly arranged in a honeycomb lattice having infinite spatial extent in the (x,y)-plane, in which electrons behave as Dirac massless fermions. Even neglecting interactions with the anchoring substrate, a graphene sheet in real world has finite extent, leading to distinctive features in the conductivity of a given sample. In this letter we study the effect of a gradual channel constriction in graphene nanoribbons on their I–V characteristics, using non-equilibrium Green's function formalism. The constriction width and the border cutting angle are the main parameters to be varied. We found that transmission through the channel is considerably affected by these parameters, presenting sharp peaks at specific energies, which can be attributed to a resonance due to the tuning of energy eigenvalues.     

Velocity measurements based on shadowgraph-like image correlations in a cavitating micro-channel flow

Cavitation is generally known for its drawbacks (noise, vibration, damage). However, it may play a beneficial role in the particular case of fuel injection, by enhancing atomization processes or reducing nozzle fouling. Studying cavitation in real injection configuration is therefore of great interest, yet tricky because of high pressure, high speed velocity, small dimensions and lack of optical access for instance. In this paper, the authors proposed a simplified and transparent 2D micro-channel (200–400 μm), supplied with test oil at lower pressure (6 MPa), allowing the use of non-intrusive and accurate optical measurement techniques. A shadowgraph-like imaging arrangement is presented. It makes it possible to visualize vapour formations as well as density gradients (refractive index gradients) in the liquid phase, including scrambled grey-level structures connected to turbulence. This optical technique has been already discussed in a previous paper (Mauger et al., 2012), together with a Schlieren and an interferometric imaging technique. In this paper, the grey-level structures connected with turbulence are considered more specifically to derive information on flow velocity. The grey-level structure displacement is visualized through couples of images recorded within a very short time delay (about 300 ns). At first, space and space–time correlation functions are calculated to characterize the evolution of grey-level structures. Space–time correlations provide structure velocity that slightly under-estimates the real flow velocity deduced from flowmeter measurements. Since the grey-level structures remain correlated in time, a second velocity measurement method is applied. An image correlation algorithm similar to those currently used in Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is used to extract velocity information, without seeding particles. In addition to the mean velocity of grey-level structures, this second method provides structure velocity fluctuations. In particular, an increase in structure velocity fluctuations is observed at the channel outlet for a critical normalized length of vapour cavities equals to 40–50%, as expected for the real flow velocity fluctuations. The present study is completed by a parametric study on channel height and oil temperature. It is concluded that none of them significantly impact the critical normalized length for which the fluctuation increase is observed, even though the magnitude of these fluctuations is larger for the higher channel.     

Inhomogeneous phase separation kinetics in liquid binary mixtures: Sensitivity to initial local composition 2

The kinetics of phase separation subsequent to a finite temperature quench is assumed to be driven by diffusion on the altered free energy surface and is generally assumed to be slow. The situation can be different in phase separating liquid binary mixtures, especially for systems characterized by the large difference in mutual interactions between solute and solvent molecules. In such cases, the phase separation kinetics could be fast and may get completed within a short time (ns) scale. As a result, in these systems, one may observe diverse dynamical features arising out of local heterogeneity leading to the onset of phase separation through pattern formation, spinodal decomposition, nucleation, and growth. By using a coarse-grained analysis, we examine phase separation kinetics in each spatial grid and indeed observe important effects of initial heterogeneity on the subsequent evolution. Interestingly, we observe slower separation kinetics for those regions that correspond to the composition at the minimum of the high-temperature surface. The heterogeneous dynamics has been captured here through the non-linear susceptibility function, which shows a pattern similar to what is observed in the supercooled liquid. Each grid shows somewhat different dynamics in the three-stage (exponential, power-law, and logarithmic regime) phase separation dynamics. The late stage of phase separation kinetics is usually attributed to the coarsening of the phase-separated domains. However, in a liquid binary mixture, the late-stage power-law decay undergoes a further change. A new dynamical regime arises characterized by a logarithmic time dependence, which is due to the “smoothening” of the rough interface of already well-separated phases. This can also be described as opposite to the roughening transition described by Chui and Weeks [Phys. Rev. Lett. 40, 733 (1978)]. This reverse roughening transition can explain the logarithmic time dependence observed in the simulation.