Facile preparation of SnC2O4 nanowires for anode materials of a Li ion battery

A simple method of creating densely-packed nanostructures of functional metal oxides is attractive, but it has always been a challenge. Here, we synthesize well-distributed nanostructures of Sn complexes (SnC₂O₄ and SnO₂) via a simple chemical anodization technique followed by annealing. Chemical anodization of Sn surface in oxalic acid, using various organic solvents, provides one-dimensional nanostructures of SnC₂O₄. Length and packing density were precisely controlled by several parameters: solubility of oxalic acid, dielectric constant of organic solvents, and the ion transfer of proton and oxalate anion. Further thermal decomposition converts the SnC₂O₄ nanowires into SnO₂ nanowires, maintaining the nanostructure form in the process. In addition, we expect that the mixture of SnC₂O₄ and SnO₂ nanowires synthesized by this approach might be potential alternative anode materials for prompt charging and discharging Li ion batteries.     

Field theoretical Lie symmetry analysis: The Möbius group,exact solutions of conformal autonomous systems,and predictive model-building

We study single and coupled first-order differential equations (ODEs) that admit symmetries with tangent vector fields, which satisfy the N-dimensional Cauchy–Riemann equations. In the two-dimensional case, classes of first-order ODEs which are invariant under Möbius transformations are explored. In the N dimensional case we outline a symmetry analysis method for constructing exact solutions for conformal autonomous systems. A very important aspect of this work is that we propose to extend the traditional technical usage of Lie groups to one that could provide testable predictions and guidelines for model-building and model-validation. The Lie symmetries in this paper are constrained and classified by field theoretical considerations and their phenomenological implications. Our results indicate that conformal transformations are appropriate for elucidating a variety of linear and nonlinear systems which could be used for, or inspire, future applications. The presentation is pragmatic and it is addressed to a wide audience.     

Development of a colorimetric microfluidic pH sensor for autonomous seawater measurements

High quality carbonate chemistry measurements are required in order to fully understand the dynamics of the oceanic carbonate system. Seawater pH data with good spatial and temporal coverage are particularly critical to apprehend ocean acidification phenomena and their consequences. There is a growing need for autonomous in situ instruments that measure pH on remote platforms. Our aim is to develop an accurate and precise autonomous in situ pH sensor for long term deployment on remote platforms. The widely used spectrophotometric pH technique is capable of the required high-quality measurements. We report a key step towards the miniaturization of a colorimetric pH sensor with the successful implementation of a simple microfluidic design with low reagent consumption. The system is particularly adapted to shipboard deployment: high quality data was obtained over a period of more than a month during a shipboard deployment in northwest European shelf waters, and less than 30 mL of indicator was consumed. The system featured a short term precision of 0.001 pH (n = 20) and an accuracy within the range of a certified Tris buffer (0.004 pH). The quality of the pH system measurements have been checked using various approaches: measurements of certified Tris buffer, measurement of certified seawater for DIC and TA, comparison of measured pH against calculated pH from pCO₂, DIC and TA during the cruise in northwest European shelf waters. All showed that our measurements were of high quality. The measurements were made close to in situ temperature (+0.2 ?C) in a sampling chamber which had a continuous flow of the ship’s underway seawater supply. The optical set up was robust and relatively small due to the use of an USB mini-spectrometer, a custom made polymeric flow cell and an LED light source. The use of a three wavelength LED with detection that integrated power across the whole of each LED output spectrum indicated that low wavelength resolution detectors can be used instead of the current USB mini spectrophotometer. Artefacts due to the polychromatic light source and inhomogeneity in the absorption cell are shown to have a negligible impact on the data quality. The next step in the miniaturization of the sensor will be the incorporation of a photodiode as detector to replace the spectrophotometer.     

Drogue detection for vision-based autonomous aerial refueling via low rank and sparse decomposition with multiple features

The technology of vision-based probe-and-drogue autonomous aerial refueling is an amazing task in modern aviation for both manned and unmanned aircraft. A key issue is to determine the relative orientation and position of the drogue and the probe accurately for relative navigation system during the approach phase, which requires locating the drogue precisely. Drogue detection is a challenging task due to disorderly motion of drogue caused by both the tanker wake vortex and atmospheric turbulence. In this paper, the problem of drogue detection is considered as a problem of moving object detection. A drogue detection algorithm based on low rank and sparse decomposition with local multiple features is proposed. The global and local information of drogue is introduced into the detection model in a unified way. The experimental results on real autonomous aerial refueling videos show that the proposed drogue detection algorithm is effective.     

Optimality and oscillations near the edge of stability in the dynamics of autonomous vehicle platoons

A model that includes the mechanical response of a vehicle to a demanded change in acceleration is analyzed to determine the string stability of a platoon of autonomous vehicles. The response is characterized by a first-order time constant τ$\tau$ and an explicit delay _td$t_d$. The minimum value of the acceleration feedback control gain is found from calculations of the velocity of vehicles following a lead vehicle that decelerates sharply from high speed to low speed. Larger values of ξ$\xi$ (in the stable range) give larger values of deceleration for vehicles in the platoon. Optimal operation is attained close to the minimum value of ξ$\xi$ for stability. Small oscillations are found after the main peak in deceleration for ξ$\xi$ in the stable region but near the transition to instability. A theory for predicting the frequency and amplitude of the oscillations is presented.     

Cu2S nanocrystals incorporated highly efficient non-fullerene ternary organic solar cells

Here, we report Cu₂S nanocrystals based non-fullerene ternary polymer solar cells by incorporating Cu₂S in conjugated polymer (PBDB-T: poly[(2,6-(4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)-benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene))-alt-(5,5-(1′,3′-di-2-thienyl-5′,7′-bis(2-ethylhexyl) benzo[1′,2′-c:4′,5′-c′]dithiophene-4,8-dione))]) and small molecule non-fullerene compound (ITIC:3,9-bis(2-methylene-(3-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)-indanone))-5,5,11,11-tetrakis(4-hexylphenyl)-dithieno[2,3-d:2′,3′-d′]-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b′]dithiophene). The devices were fabricated in inverted configuration i.e. ITO/ZnO/PBDB-T: Cu₂S NCs: ITIC/MoO₃/Ag. Effect of concentration of Cu₂S nanocrystals on the performance parameters of PBDB-T: ITIC based organic solar cells is studied. An enhancement in the power conversion efficiency from 8.24% to 9.53% is achieved for the optimum concentration of Cu₂S nanocrystals in the organic photoactive blend. The cause of improvement in the performance parameters of the device is investigated by means of the light intensity dependent electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. It is found that the devices with Cu₂S nanocrystals have less trap-assisted recombination.     

A continuation principle for a class of periodically perturbed autonomoussystems

The paper deals with a T ‐periodically perturbed autonomous system in ℝⁿ of the form ((PS)) with ε > 0 small. The main goal of the paper is to provide conditions ensuring the existence of T ‐periodic solutions to (PS) belonging to a given open set W ⊂ C ([0, T ],ℝⁿ ). This problem is considered in the case when the boundary ∂W of W contains at most a finite number of nondegenerate T ‐periodic solutions of the autonomous system = ϕ (x). The starting point of our approach is the following property due to Malkin: if for any T ‐periodic limit cycle x 0 of = ϕ (x) belonging to ∂W the so‐called bifurcation function f (θ), θ ∈ [0, T ], associated to x₀, see (1.11), satisfies the condition f(0) ≠ 0 then the integral operator does not have fixed points on ∂W for all ε > 0 sufficiently small. By means of the Malkin's bifurcation function we then establish a formula to evaluate the Leray–Schauder topological degree of I – Q_ε on W. This formula permits to state existence results that generalize or improve several results of the existing literature. In particular, we extend a continuation principle due to Capietto, Mawhin and Zanolin where it is assumed that ∂W does not contain any T ‐periodic solutions of the unperturbed system. Moreover, we obtain generalizations or improvements of some existence results due to Malkin and Loud. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

英才班基础化学原理自主学习模式的构建与实践

"Creative teaching" is the most suitable teaching pattern for the training of top-notch talents and the core is the cultivation of elite-class students' autonomous learning ability. We have tried to build the autonomous learning mode in the course of Principles of Basic Chemistry for the elite-class major in polymer materials engineering. The teaching practice has been carried out in six aspects that are "leading both teachers and students to change minds, constructing autonomous learning platform, activating the classroom teaching, complementary integration between PBL teaching method and 'the flipped classroom', 'a line' for extracurricular self-study, and 'point-line-face' generalization and summarization".     

A network queuing approach for evaluation of performance measures in autonomous vehicle storage and retrieval systems

A network queuing approach is used to estimate performance measures for Autonomous Vehicle Storage and Retrieval (AVS/R) Systems using opportunistic interleaving. The model exploits the distribution of cycle types and random storage assumptions to estimate the proportion of single and dual command cycles in a system. Comparable in accuracy and computational efficiency to procedures based on standard queuing models, the proposed technique provides the additional advantage of flexibility for modeling the interfaces between a storage system and the overall material flow system in a facility. The procedure is demonstrated for a range of problem scenarios.