Controlled synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles from a Zn(II) coordination polymer: Structural characterization,optical properties and photocatalytic activity

A zinc coordination polymer derived from pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate (PDC), {[Zn₂(PDC)₂]}_n, was successfully prepared via conventional, sonication and microwave-irradiation methods. The composition and characteristics of the obtained coordination polymers (CPs) were investigated by elemental analysis, TGA/DTA, X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic techniques. The so obtained CPs were heat-treated in the air at 600 °C for 2 h to produce ZnO of nanosized particles (NPs). It is of interest to note that the synthesis approach of the precursor greatly affects both the nanoparticle size and the structure of the resulting ZnO NPs. Moreover, the smallest particle size was associated with the sample derived from the ultrasonically prepared precursor. TEM analysis revealed that all samples have sphere-like morphologies. Structural analysis of the prepared ZnO samples was conducted and compared using Rietveld analysis of their PXRD patterns. Optical band gap calculations based on analysis of the UV–vis spectra of ZnO samples using Tauc's power law were achieved. The highest band gap of 3.63 eV was observed for ZnO sample obtained from the ultrasonically prepared precursor. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of ZnO NPs for the removal of Eosin Y color was monitored. The highest removal efficiency was recorded for ZnO originated from the ultrasonically synthesized precursor. Enhancement of removal efficiency that reached 98% was attained in only a period of 8 min. Its recycling test showed that it can be reused without structural changes over four cycling experiments.     

Preparation and Characterization of Activated Carbon from Microwave and Conventional Heated Almond Shells Using Phosphoric Acid Activation

Activated carbon production from almond shells using phosphoric acid activation agent was achieved by applying both conventional heating and microwave heating in succession. The morphology and surface properties of activated carbon were studied using thermogravimetric and differential gravimetric analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis. A surface area of 1128 m²/g was achieved by optimizing the microwave power (500?W), microwave application time (15?minutes), conventional heating time (45?minutes), conventional heating temperature (500?°C), and the phosphoric acid:sample ratio (0.7:1). An adsorption capacity of methylene blue of 148?mg/g and an iodine value of 791?mg/g was obtained for the prepared activated carbon.     

Synthesis,Crystal Structure,and Magnetic Properties of a New Dinuclear Iron Complex with Schiff Base Ligand

A new dinuclear iron(Ⅲ) complex has been synthesized and structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography: [FeⅢ2(L)(C6H5COO)(SO4)(CH3OH)2]·CH3CN·CH3OH(1, H3 L = N,N'-bis(salicylidene)-1,3-diamino-2-propanol). Complex 1 belongs to orthorhombic space group Pna21 with a = 11.4400(8), b = 22.9705(2), c = 12.5712(9) , V = 3303.5(4) 3, Z = 4, F(000) = 1576, Dc = 1.531 g·cm–3, Mr = 761.36, μ = 1.007 mm–1, S = 1.014, the final R = 0.0505 and wR = 0.1018. The crystal packing is stabilized by intermolecular O–H···O hydrogen bonds, forming an extended one-dimensional chain structure. The temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility measurement shows that antiferromagnetic interaction is propagated between the metal centers. Fit as dinuclear arrangement gave parameters of J = 19.7 cm-1, g = 1.89 and R2 = 0.9999.     

Designing spirobifullerene core based three-dimensional cross shape acceptor materials with promising photovoltaic properties for high-efficiency organic solar cells

The development of organic electron acceptor materials is one of the key factors for realizing high-performance organic solar cells (OSCs). Nonfullerene electron acceptors, compared to traditional fullerene acceptor materials, have gained much impetus owing to their better optoelectronic tunabilities and lower cost, as well as higher stability. Therefore, 5 three-dimensional (3D) cross-shaped acceptor materials having a spirobifullerene core flanked with 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole are designed from a recently synthesized highly efficient acceptor molecule SF(BR) ₄ and are investigated in detail with regard to their use as acceptor molecules in OSCs. The density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations have been performed for the estimation of frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis, density of states analysis, reorganization energies of electron and hole, dipole moment, open-circuit voltage, photo-physical characteristics, and transition density matrix analysis. In addition, the structure-property relationship is studied, and the influence of end-capped acceptor modifications on photovoltaic, photo-physical, and electronic properties of newly selected molecules ( H1-H5 ) is calculated and compared with reference ( R ) acceptor molecule SF(BR) ₄ . The structural tailoring at terminals was found to effectively tune the FMO band gap, energy levels, absorption spectra, open-circuit voltage, reorganization energy, and binding energy value in selected molecules H1 to H5 . The 3D cross-shaped molecules H1 to H5 suppress the intermolecular aggregation in PTB7-Th blend, which leads to high efficiency of acceptor material H1 to H5 in OSCs. Consequently, better optoelectronic properties are achieved from designed molecules H1 to H5 . It is proposed that the conceptualized molecules are superior than highly efficient spirobifullerene core-based SF(BR) ₄ acceptor molecules and, thus, are recommended to experiments for future developments of highly efficient solar cells.     

Revealing and comparing different excited-state intramolecular proton transfer processes for 3-(4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-1-(4-fluoro-2-hydroxy-phenyl)-propenone and 3-(4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-1-(4-fluoro-2-hydroxy-phenyl)-3-hydroxy-propenon

Two novel 2′-hydroxychalcone derivatives (i.e., M1 and M2) are explored in this work. We mainly focus on investigating the effects of photoexcitation on hydrogen bonds and on the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process. On the basis of calculations of electrostatic potential surface and intramolecular interactions, we verify the formation of hydrogen bond O1 H2···O3 in both S₀ and S₁ states. Exploring the ultraviolet–visible spectra in the liquid phase, our simulated results reappear in the experimental phenomenon. Analyzing molecular geometry and infrared stretching vibrational spectra, we confirm O1 H2···O3 is strengthened for both M1 and M2 in the S₁ state. We further confirm that charge redistribution facilitates ESIPT tendency. Constructing potential energy curves, we find the ultrafast ESIPT behavior for M1, which is because of the deficiency of side hydroxyl moiety comparing with M2. This work makes a reasonable affiliation of the ESIPT mechanism for M1 and M2. We wish this paper could facilitate understanding these two novel systems and promote their applications.     

含气率对PTS时压力容器内流动与传热的影响

本文对反应堆压力容器紧急安注时的流动与传热特性在1/10的模型上进行了流动可视化、局部传热系数以及混合函数的试验研究。针对三个热冲击敏感区域的部分测点,比较了环腔流速为0.5m/s、安注流速为1～30 m/s时不同含气率对下降环腔内流动与传热特性的影响,得出并分析了不同测点传热系数、混合函数的变化规律。研究结果表明:随着含气率增大,安注流体与环腔流体的混合增强;下降环腔内的含气率对小安注流速时的流动与传热影响显著,而对大安注流速时影响较小。     

双掺(Tm3+,Tb3+)LiYF4激光器1.5 μm波长激光阈值分析

由速率方程推出了双掺（Tm^3 ,Tb^3 ）离子准四能级系统的激光阈值解析式，讨论了Tm^3 和Tb^3 离子之间的相互作用。分析了1.5μm波长附近的激光阈值和Tm^3 、Tb^3 离子的掺杂原子数分数及晶体长度的关系。结果表明，对于对应Tm^3 离子^3H4→^3F4跃迁的约1.5μm波长的激光，激活离子Tm^3 的掺杂原子数分数过大时，交叉弛豫作用将使系统阈值迅速增加。Tb^3 离子的加入，一方面能抽空激光下能级，起到降低阈值的作用；另一方面亦减少了激光上能级的寿命，使阈值升高。故Tb^3 离子有最佳掺杂原子数分数。对于Tm原子数分数为y=0.01的Tm:LiYF4晶体，Tb^3 离子的最佳掺杂原子数分数为0.002左右，同时表明，激光阈值与晶体长度有关。最佳晶体长度与Tm^3 、Tb^3 离子的掺杂原子数分数以及晶体的衍射损耗和吸收损耗有关。     

Thermal gradient induced sidebranching in directional solidification

The polycrystalline perovskitelike manganese oxides La_1-xA_xMnO (A = Na, and K, ) have been fabricated by sol-gel technique. For all the compositions explored in this work, the average manganese oxidation state is practically constant, at for A = Na, and for A = K, respectively. A close relationship is confirmed to hold between the Curie temperature (T_c) and the bond distance of Mn-O. Results of magnetic measurements show that these materials can be utilized as suitable candidates for magnetic refrigerants with wide applied temperature span, for their significant entropy change and the easily tuned Curie temperature. Received: 12 September 1997 / Revised: 18 December 1997 / Accepted: 21 January 1998