Revealing the Effect of Surface Composition on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Supported Pt-Fe Alloy Electrocatalysts for Methanol Oxidation Performance

The designs of efficient and inexpensive Pt-based catalysts for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) are essential to boost the commercialization of direct methanol fuel cells. Here, the highly catalytic performance PtFe alloys supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) decorating nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) have been successfully prepared via co-engineering of the surface composition and electronic structure. The Pt₁Fe₃@NC/MWCNTs catalyst with moderate Fe³⁺ feeding content (0.86 mA/mg_Pt) exhibits 2.26-fold enhancement in MOR mass activity compared to pristine Pt/C catalyst (0.38 mA/mg_Pt). Furthermore, the CO oxidation initial potential of Pt₁Fe₃@NC/MWCNTs catalyst is lower relative to Pt/C catalyst (0.71 V and 0.80 V). Benefited from the optimal surface compositions, the anti-corrosion ability of MWCNT, strong electron interaction between PtFe alloys and MWCNTs and the N-doped carbon (NC) layer, the Pt₁Fe₃@NC/MWCNTs catalyst presents an improved MOR performance and anti-CO poisoning ability. This study would open up new perspective for designing efficient electrocatalysts for the DMFCs field.     

Sandwich-like Catalyst–Carbon–Catalyst Trilayer Structure as a Compact 2D Host for Highly Stable Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Herein, we propose the construction of a sandwich-structured host filled with continuous 2D catalysis–conduction interfaces. This MoN-C-MoN trilayer architecture causes the strong conformal adsorption of S/Li₂S_x and its high-efficiency conversion on the two-sided nitride polar surfaces, which are supplied with high-flux electron transfer from the buried carbon interlayer. The 3D self-assembly of these 2D sandwich structures further reinforces the interconnection of conductive and catalytic networks. The maximized exposure of adsorptive/catalytic planes endows the MoN-C@S electrode with excellent cycling stability and high rate performance even under high S loading and low host surface area. The high conductivity of this trilayer texture does not compromise the capacity retention after the S content is increased. Such a job-synergistic mode between catalytic and conductive functions guarantees the homogeneous deposition of S/Li₂S_x, and avoids thick and devitalized accumulation (electrode passivation) even after high-rate and long-term cycling.     

Direct Intermediate Regulation Enabled by Sulfur Containers in Working Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Polysulfide intermediates (PSs), the liquid-phase species of active materials in lithium–sulfur (Li-S) batteries, connect the electrochemical reactions between insulative solid sulfur and lithium sulfide and are key to full exertion of the high-energy-density Li-S system. Herein, the concept of sulfur container additives is proposed for the direct modification on the PSs species. By reversible storage and release of the sulfur species, the container molecule converts small PSs into large organosulfur species. The prototype di(tri)sulfide-polyethylene glycol sulfur container is highly efficient in the reversible PS transformation to multiply affect electrochemical behaviors of sulfur cathodes in terms of liquid-species clustering, reaction kinetics, and solid deposition. The stability and capacity of Li-S cells was thereby enhanced. The sulfur container is a strategy to directly modify PSs, enlightening the precise regulation on Li-S batteries and multi-phase electrochemical systems.     

New Electroweak Model Without a Higgs Particle

A new unified electroweak model is proposed in this paper. In this unified electroweak model, Higgsmechanism is not used, so no Higgs particle exists in the model. In order to keep the masses of intermediate gaugebosons non-zero, two sets of gauge fields will be introduced. In order to introduce symmetry breaking and to help tointroduce the masses of all fields, a vacuum potential is needed. Except for those terms concerning Higgs particle, thefundamental dynamical properties of this model are similar to those of the standard model. And in a proper limit, thismodel will approximately return to the standard model. The purpose of this paper is not to say that the Higgs particledoes not exist in Nature, it is only to prove that, without a Higgs particle, we can also set up a unified electroweak modelwhich is consistent with present experiments.     

束晕-混沌的复杂性理论与控制方法及其应用前景

本文系统论述涉及强流加速器等强流离子束装置中产生的束晕-混沌的复杂性理论与控制方法及其应用前景。强流离子束在核材料生产与增殖、洁净核能、放射性废物嬗变、放射性药物生产、重离子聚变、高能物理、核科学与工程、国防与民用工业和医疗等许多方面都有极其重要的应用潜力和诱人的发展前景。尤其是，近年来强流加速器驱动的放射性洁净核能系统是国内外关注的热门课题，因为它比常规核电更安全、更干净、更便宜。但是，强流离子束形成的束晕-混沌的复杂性现象已引起了国内外广泛关注，需要加以抑制、控制和消除这类现象，解决这一难题已经成为强流离子束应用中的关键问题之一。目前不仅必须深入研究这类束晕-混沌的复杂特性及其产生的物理机制，而且需要研究如何实现对束晕-混沌的有效控制，并寻求和发展其新理论、新方法和新技术。这就向强流离子束物理和非线性-复杂性科学及其技术提出了一系列极富挑战性的新课题。本文结合国内外的研究概况，根据我们多年来的研究成果，特别是我们首创性地提出了一些束晕-混沌的有效控制方法，它们包括：非线性反馈控制法，小波反馈控制法，变结构控制法，延迟反馈控制法，参数自适应控制法等，进行重点的介绍。对上述课题当前的主要进展及相关问题进行系统的总结和比较全面综述的评论。最后，指出该领域今后的研究方向，以推动这个崭新领域的深入研究和应用发展。     

Transport of Neutrally Buoyant and Dense Variably Sized Colloids in a Two-Dimensional Fracture with Anisotropic Aperture

The transport of monodisperse as well as polydisperse colloid suspensions in a two-dimensional, water saturated fracture with spatially variable and anisotropic aperture is investigated with a particle tracking model. Both neutrally buoyant and dense colloid suspensions are considered. Although flow and transport in fractured subsurface formations have been studied extensively by numerous investigators, the transport of dense, polydisperse colloid suspensions in a fracture with spatially variable and anisotropic aperture has not been previously explored. Simulated snapshots and breakthrough curves of ensemble averages of several realizations of a log-normally distributed aperture field show that polydisperse colloids exhibit greater spreading than monodisperse colloids, and dense colloids show greater retardation than neutrally buoyant colloids. Moreover, it is demonstrated that aperture anisotropy oriented along the flow direction substantially increases colloid spreading; whereas, aperture anisotropy oriented transverse to the flow direction retards colloid movement.     

Crystallographic report: catena‐Aqua(2,2′‐bipyrimidine)lithium(I) perchlorate

A lithium(I) coordination polymer has been formed from LiClO₄ and the 2,2′‐bipyrimidine (bpym) ligand in which each square pyramidal lithium(I) atom is coordinated in the basal plane by four nitrogen donor atoms derived from two bpym ligands and one water molecule at the apical position. These are connected into a layer structure via hydrogen‐bonding interactions involving the perchlorate anions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CFD在燃煤细粒子凝聚过程中的应用

燃煤产生的细粒子富集了大量的有毒痕量元素,对大气环境和人类健康造成严重危害。本文针对燃煤细粒子的形成过程,在计算流体力学(CFD)的基础上,结合气溶胶动力学理论,模拟了烟气中细粒子在圆柱形流场中由于碰撞而凝聚的过程,并通过计算结果分析细粒子颗粒特征参量(速度、质量、直径和颗粒数目)随流场的变化趋势,为深入研究燃煤细粒子的形成演化机理提供理论基础。