Effect of oxygen content on structural and optical properties of single Cu2O film by reactive magnetron sputtering method

Cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) thin films have been deposited on glass substrate by reactive magnetron sputtering method using Cu target and argon oxygen gas atmosphere. Effect of oxygen flow rate on structural and optical properties of thin films has been discussed. The results of X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry and atomic force micrograph indicated that the condition window for single Cu₂O phase was about 3.8 to 4.4 cm³/min, and the optimum oxygen flow rate was 4.2 cm³/min. The optical band gap E _g of Cu₂O film was determined by using the data of transmittance versus wavelength, and slightly decreased from 2.46 to 2.40 eV with the increase of oxygen flow rate from 3.8 to 4.4 cm³/min. The Cu₂O film formed at the oxygen flow rate of 4.2 cm³/min had an optical band gap of 2.43 eV.     

Study on Oxidation Activity of CuCeZrO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> Doped with K for Diesel Engine Particles in NO/O<Subscript>2</Subscript>

CuCeZrO_x and KCuCeZrO_x catalysts were synthesized and coated on the blank diesel particulate filter (DPF) substrate and a particulate matter (PM) loading apparatus was used for soot loading. The catalytic performances of soot oxidation were evaluated by temperature programmed combustion (TPC) test and characterization tests were conducted to investigate the physicochemical properties of the catalysts. The reaction mechanism in the oxidation process was analyzed with diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that CuCeZrO_x catalyst exhibited high activities of soot oxidation at low temperature and the best results have been attained with Cu_0.9Ce_0.05Zr_0.05O_x over which the maximum soot oxidation rate decreased to 410 °C. Characterization tests have shown that catalysts containing 90% Cu have uniformly distributed grains and small particle sizes, which provide excellent oxidation activity by providing more active sites and forming a good bond between the catalyst and the soot. The low-temperature oxidation activity of soot could be further optimized due to the excellent elevated NO’s conversion rate by partially substituting Cu with K. The maximum particle oxidation rate can be easily realized at such a low temperature as 347°C.     

Monte Carlo simulation of B2-L2<Subscript>1</Subscript> ordering transitions in Au-Cu-Al alloy systems

The B2-L2₁ ordering transitions in Au-Cu-Al shape-memory alloys are studied by the Monte Carlo exchange simulations, where a set of the first, the second and the third nearest-neighbor mixing potentials for Cu-Al in the Au-Cu-Al alloys are calculated from first principals using the Connolly-Williams methods. To ensure the phase stability of the β-Au-Cu-Al, the investigation includes the range of compositions Au₂Cu_1−x Al_1+x (−0.15 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.15). The B2-L2₁ transition temperatures are predicted, and are in agreement with the experimental results. The atomic ordering around vacancy of the L2₁ structure is further discussed.     

Catalytic Combustion of Lean Methane Assisted by Electric Field over Pd/Co<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> Catalysts at Low Temperature

A series of Pd/Co₃O₄ catalysts were prepared by Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis (SHS) method in this study, and electric field was applied for catalytic combustion of lean methane over Pd/Co₃O₄ catalysts at low temperature. When electric field was applied, the catalytic combustion performance of Pd/Co₃O₄ catalysts was greatly improved, and the application of electric field could reduce the load of active element Pd to some extent while maintaining the same efficiency. Based on experimental tests and the analysis results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H₂-temperature-programmed reduction (H₂-TPR) and in-situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (in-situ DRIFTS), the mechanism of catalytic oxidation of CH₄ over Pd/Co₃O₄ catalysts in electric field was proposed. The catalytic combustion of CH₄ occurs only when the temperature is higher than 250 °C normally, but when electric field was applied, the whole process of CH₄ oxidation was promoted significantly and the reaction temperature was reduced. Electric field could promote the reduction of the support Co₃O₄ to release the lattice oxygen, resulting in the increase of PdO_x and the surface chemisorbed oxygen, which could provide more active sites for the low-temperature oxidation of CH₄. Furthermore, electric field could accelerate the dehydroxylation of CoOOH to further enhance the activity of the catalysts.     

核-壳纳米复合材料制备及含铬重金属处理

采用一步固相法,制备出以富铁空心微珠为基、稀土掺杂纳米铁氧体为壳的核-壳型纳米复合材料.对所制备样品进行X射线衍射（XRD）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）和磁性能的表征.结果表明成功制备了核-壳型纳米复合材料,样品的晶粒粒径为30 nm,复合材料两相的交换耦合作用增强,剩磁与矫顽力有所改善,提高了复合材料对重金属阳离子的吸附.采用原子吸收光谱法研究了该复合材料对Cr3＋离子的吸附性能,确定了最佳吸附条件.在最佳工艺条件下,该复合材料对含铬重金属的吸附率达到98％以上,有较好的吸附能力,适于推广使用.     

Effect of oil shale on Na+ solidification of red mud-fly ash cementitious material

Red mud-fly ash based cementitious material mixed with different contents of oil shale calcined at 700°C is investigated in this paper. The effect of active Si and Al content on the solidification of Na⁺ during the hydration process is determined by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), ²⁷Al and ²⁹Si magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR), infrared (IR), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is shown that the content of oil shale has a remarkable effect on the solidified content of Na⁺. The hydration process generates a highly reactive intermediate gel phase formed by co-polymerisation of individual alumina and silicate species. This kind of gel is primarily considered as 3D framework of SiO₄ and AlO₄ tetrahedra interlinked by the shared oxygen atoms randomly. The negative charges and four-coordinated Al inside the network are mainly charge-balanced by Na⁺. The solidifying mechanism of Na⁺ is greatly attributed to the forming of this kind of gel.     

Electronic structures and magneto-transport properties of co-based Heusler alloy based magneto-resistance junctions

A direct link between band structure and the ballistic transport property of full-Heusler alloys based Co₂ YZ/Al/Co₂ YZ trilayers (Y = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn and Fe; Z = Al, Si and Ge) has been studied by firstprinciples calculations. It is found that the transport efficiency is determined primarily by three factors related to band structure: the shape of the band crossing Fermi energy E _F, the distance d of the two intersection points of Co₂ YZ and Al at E _F, and the absolute maximum of the energy lying in the E _F-crossing band, |E_max|. The transmission coefficient distribution patterns imply that the affected factor of magneto-resistance (MR) ratio is attributed to the band features around E _F. In general, an intuitively illustrated diagram is proposed to clarify the relationship between the probability of electron transition and the current magnitude.     

Microstructure and hardness of Ni-xSi alloys

The microstructure and hardness of conventionally solidified Ni-xSi (x = 21.4%, 22%, 24%, 26%) alloys were investigated. The solidification microstructures of different Ni-Si alloys were observed by optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the phase composition was indentified under the help of energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The macro- and micro-hardness of the Ni-Si alloys at room temperature were also examined. The experimental results indicated that both the microstructure and hardness closely depended on the Si content. Due to the vast formation of primary ??-Ni₃₁Si₁₂ phase, the hardness of Ni-26.0%Si alloy was significantly improved compared with that of Ni-21.4%Si eutectic alloy. However, the fracture toughness was greatly weakened simultaneously. The (?? ₁-Ni₃Si+??-Ni₃₁Si₁₂) lamellar eutectoid structure formed in the primary ??-Ni₃₁Si₁₂ phase exhibited better ductility than single ??-Ni₃₁Si₁₂ phase at the cost of relatively small hardness reduction.     

掺杂稀土离子对Z型六角铁氧体微结构和磁性能的影响

用普通陶瓷工艺,制备了掺杂稀土离子的Co2Z型平面六角软磁铁氧体材料,研究了掺杂不同稀土离子对Co2Z型平面六角铁氧体材料的微结构和磁性能的影响.结果表明：掺杂稀土离子的Co2Z型铁氧体材料仍具有单相的Z型平面六角结构,在Sm3＋,Nd3＋,Gd3＋三组稀土离子掺杂样品中,掺杂量x=0.025时,Sm3＋离子掺杂样品磁性能最优,初始磁导率16,截止频率1.670GHz.     

Combustion optimization model for NO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> reduction with an improved particle swarm optimization

Abstract: This paper focuses on the combustion optimization to cut down NO _x emission with a new strategy. Firstly, orthogonal experimental design (OED) and chaotic sequences are introduced to improve the performance of particle swarm optimization (PSO). Then, a predicting model for NO _x emission is established on support vector machine (SVM) whose parameters are optimized by the improved PSO. Afterwards, a new optimization model considering coal quantity and air quantity along with the traditional optimization variables is established. At last, the operating parameters are optimized by the improved PSO to cut down the NO _x emission. An application on 600MW unit shows that the new optimization model can cut down NO _x emission effectively and maintain the load balance well. The NO _x emission optimized by the improved PSO is lowest among some state-of-the-art intelligent algorithms. This study can provide important guides for the low NO _x combustion in the power plant.     

Improvements of elevated temperature strength and creep resistance of Mg-12Zn-4Al based alloy with calcium addition

A series of Mg-12Zn-4Al-0.3Mn (ZA124) based alloys with additions of calcium have been prepared and their microstructure and properties have been investigated. The results show that Mg-12Zn-4Al-0.3Mn alloy consists of the ??-Mg matrix and block quasicrystal and exhibits excellent creep resistance compared to commonly used AZ91 alloy. A small amount of calcium addition to the ZA124 based alloys increased the yield strenghth at both ambient and elevated temperatures as well as creep resistance, although the ductility decreased slightly. Microanalysis indicated that the addition of calcium decreased the quasicrystalline phase and caused the formation of some lamellar precipitates of Al₂Mg₅Zn₂ with orthorhombic crystal structure. This Ca-containing Al₂Mg₅Zn₂ phase with high stability straddled the grain boundaries and strengthened grain boundaries by inhibiting crack propagation during creep tests at elevated temperature.     

Microwave hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of ZnO nanostructures in aqueous solution

ZnO nanostructures were prepared in aqueous solution by microwave hydrothermal synthesis. Xray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were used to characterize ZnO nanostructures (ZNs). The effects of pH, reaction temperature and reaction time on yield of ZnO were investigated. The yield of ZnO increased significantly with the increase of pH value, reaction temperature and reaction time. High yield and well crystallinity of ZNs could be obtained at 120°C for 60min by microwave hydrothermal synthesis. The spherical and rugby-like ZNs were obtained at 120°C without triethanolamine (TEA) and with TEA (mass ratio, $r = m_{Zn^{2 + } }$ : m _TEA = 1: 1), respectively. The concentration of Zn(OH) ₄ ^?2 ions in the reaction solution and TEA had an important effect on the nucleation and morphology of ZnO nanostructures. Mechanism for the formation of ZnO nanostructures was proposed.     

Dry milling of the ultra-high-strength steel 30CrMnSiNi2A with coated carbide inserts

The ultra-high-strength steel (UHSS) plays an important role in the mechanical industry because of their special performances. The machinability of 30CrMnSiNi2A steel was studied in dry milling with two different coated tools in the present work. This paper introduced that 30CrMnSiNi2A steel was a kind of difficult-to-machine materials. The results showed that the cutting force components of feed direction and cutting width direction, i.e. F x and F y , increased slightly with increasing the cutting speed and feed rate. The values of axial force component F z were much larger than F x and F y , and increased obviously with increasing the milling speed. The workpiece surface had the minimum roughness at the cutting speed of 150 m/min. The physical vapor deposition (PVD) coated ((Ti, Al)N-TiN) insert was more suitable for machining 30CrMnSiNi2A steel than the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) coated (Ti(C, N)-Al 2 O 3 ) insert. Moreover, the main failure modes of PVD-coated insert were micro-chipping and coating spalling. The wear modes of CVD-coated insert were ploughing, coating spalling, and cratering. The serious adhesive wear and the abrasion with some adhesion were the main wear mechanism of PVD- and CVD-coated inserts, respectively.     

Thermodynamic analyse on equilibrium precipitation phases and composition design of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys

The solidification paths of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys and its precipitation behavior are analyzed using software package JMatPro 6.0 for material property simulation of Al-base alloys. The microstructures of the experimental alloys are analyzed; the experimental results of microstructural analysis are in agreement with the thermodynamic prediction. Through orthogonal experimental method, this paper designs the composition of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys by studying the variation of ?? (MgZn₂) phase, S (Al₂CuMg) phase, T (AlZnMgCu) phase amount and precipitation temperatures with different Zn, Mg and Cu contents. It is found that with the optimum mass fraction of Zn of 6.7%, Mg of 2.2%?C2.5% and Cu of 1.6%?C2.0%, the mass fraction of ?? phase can be up to 8.7%?C9.22% and that of S phase and T phase can be lower than 0.5%.     

Improvement of immunoassay detection sensitivity by using well-defined raspberry-like magnetic microbeads as carriers

Well-defined raspberry-like magnetic microbeads(RMMBs) as immunoassay solid carriers were prepared by chemical covalent binding between Fe3O4 magnetic microspheres and SiO2 nanoparticles. These RMMBs were not as agglomerative as nano-sized magnetie particles( 200 nm), which was an advangtage for high efficient magnetic separation. When compared to Fe3O4@SiO2core-shell magnetic microbeads(CMMBs) with smooth surface, RMMBs exhibited stronger capacity to bind biomolecules. Limit of blank(LoB) and limit of detection(LoD) of HBsAg detection using RMMBs as carriers via chemiluminiscence immunoassay(CLIA) were 0.472 and1.022 μg/L, respectively, showing a notable improvement compared with CMMBs whose LoB and LoD were 1.017 and 1.988 μg/L, respectively. All these indicated a great potential of RMMBs in immunoassay application.     

Study of graphene doped zinc oxide nanocomposite as transparent conducting oxide electrodes for solar cell applications

The graphite oxide(GO) was prepared based on the modified Hummers method, then reacted with zinc acetate aqueous, sodium hydroxide aqueous and hydrazine hydrate, and was doped into ZnO eventually to form graphene doped ZnO, an alternative transparent conducting oxide(TCO) for solar cell applications. The samples were characterized by Raman spectrometer, X-ray diffractometer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope, and compared with widely used aluminum doped ZnO(AZO) in resistivity and transmissivity. The results show that the transmissivity of graphene doped ZnO reaches the same level as that of AZO in visible light band. In ultraviolet light wave band, the transmissivity of graphene doped ZnO reaches as high as 50%, exceeding that of AZO which is only 20%. The resistivity of optimized graphene doped ZnO is1.03 × 10-5Ω· m, approaching AZO resistivity which is about 10-4—10-6Ω· m. As a result, graphene doped ZnO may have potential applications in the area of TCO due to its low cost and high performance.     

Threshold signature scheme with threshold verification based on multivariate linear polynomial

Secret sharing schemes are multi-party protocols related to key establishment. They also facilitate distributed trust or shared control for critical activities (e.g., signing corporate cheques and opening bank vaults), by gating the critical action on cooperation from t(t ∈ Z ⁺) of n(n ∈ Z ⁺) users. A (t, n) threshold scheme (t < n) is a method by which a trusted party computes secret shares Γ _i (1 ⩽ i ⩽ n) from an initial secret Γ ₀ and securely distributes Γ _i to user. Any t or more users who pool their shares may easily recover Γ ₀, but any group knowing only t−1 or fewer shares may not. By the ElGamal public key cryptophytes and the Schnorr’s signature scheme, this paper proposes a new (t, n) threshold signature scheme with (k,m) (k,m ∈ Z ⁺) threshold verification based on the multivariate linear polynomial.     

Effect of La addition on electrochemical properties of amorphous LaMg11Zr+200Ni alloy

The effect of La addition on the structure and electrochemical properties of amorphous LaMg₁₁Zr+200Ni (LaMg₁₁Zr: Ni = 1: 2, m: m) hydrogen storage alloy prepared by mechanical alloying was investigated systematically. The results show that the alloys have an amorphous structure after 20 h ball-milling and the particles are significantly refined with the addition of La. The electrochemical tests indicate that the charging resistance of the alloy electrodes decreases with the addition of La. The maximum discharge capacity of the alloy electrodes increases with the increase of La addition, while the cyclic stability and high-rate discharge performance increase firstly and then decrease as the La content increases. When the mass fraction of La is up to 5%, the maximum discharge capacity after charging/discharging of 30 cycles of the alloy electrode is increased from 576.2 to 597.5 mA· h/g, and the capacity retention rate and high-rate dischargeability (HRD) of the alloy electrode are increased by 20.5% and 29.4% respectively compared with those of the alloy electrode without the La addition, exhibiting the best comprehensive electrochemical performances.     

Modeling Nd<Superscript>3+</Superscript>-Yb<Superscript>3+</Superscript>-Tm<Superscript>3+</Superscript>-Er<Superscript>3+</Superscript> Codoped Telluride Glass Fiber for 0.4 to 2.0 μm Emission Spectra

The modeling of rare-earth-doped fiber amplifier is accomplished by utilizing the rate and propagation equations of distinct levels for a laser medium. A complex theoretical model for neodymium (Nd³⁺), erbium (Er³⁺), thulium (Tm³⁺) and ytterbium (Yb³⁺) codoped telluride glass fiber covering 0.4—2.0 μm emission spectra is presented. The emission spectra of Nd³⁺-Er³⁺-Tm³⁺-Yb³⁺ codoped telluride fiber are realized with the excitation of both 808 and 980 nm lasers pumped at 500mW. Numerical methods are used to calculate the emission spectra covering 0.4—2.0 μm. With the Nd³⁺, Tm³⁺ and Yb³⁺ ion concentrations fixed at 2 × 10²⁰ ion/m³, the Er³⁺ ion concentration optimized to 8 × 1020 ion/m3 and the fiber length spanning from 0.5 to 2 m, a peak amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) power of 19.8mW is attainable, and a minimum ASE power of 7.96mW can also be achieved. The analytical techniques and results indicate that when a telluride codoped fiber with suitable ion concentrations of Nd³⁺, Er³⁺, Tm³⁺ and Yb³⁺ is excited by both 980 and 808 nm pump lasers, 0.4—2.0 μm emission spectra are attainable for vast optical applications.     

Improvement the electrochemical performance of Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 electrode with AlF3 added

Layered solid solution material Li_1.2Ni_0.2Mn_0.6O₂ is synthesized and the AlF₃ is added to improve the electrochemical performance. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that the Li_1.2Ni_0.2Mn_0.6O₂ samples exhibit layered characteristics. The AlF₃ additive is detected by transmission electron microscope (TEM) technology. The electrochemical tests show that Li_1.2Ni_0.2Mn_0.6O₂ electrode with AlF₃ added delivers better discharge capacity (240mA· h/g), first coulomb efficiency 79.2%, cyclic performance (capacity retention ratio of 100.6% after 50 cycles), and rate capacity (68mA · h/g at 10 capacity (C)) than the pristine sample. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results show that the charge transfer resistance of Li_1.2Ni_0.2Mn_0.6O₂ electrode with AlF₃ added increases slower than that of pristine Li_1.2Ni_0.2Mn_0.6O₂ after cycling, which is responsible for better cyclic and rate performance.