Application and Characterization of Cellulose Acetate Membrane Produced from Herbaceous Plant: Solidago Canadensis L.

In this work,the viability of Solidago Canadensis L. for cellulose acetate membrane production was tested. The cellulose was extracted from Solidago Canadensis L. stem by organic solvents,and the cellulose diacetate was obtained by acetylization of cellulose. The properties of the intermediate products of cellulose pulp and cellulose diacetate were characterized by FT-IR and XRD. Compared with commercial cellulose diacetate,the properties of cellulose diacetate were similar to those of the commercial cellulose diacetate. The cellulose acetate membrane with desirable pure water flux and rejection rate was obtained from cellulose diacetate by solution casting. The membrane showed favorable hydrophilic property so that it had good anti-pollution performance. The maximum pure water flux of the membrane was 27. 21 m L /( cm2· h) and the maximum rejection rate was 80. 39%. The results demonstrated that the membrane obtained from herbaceous plant: Solidago Canadensis L. had good performance of ultrafiltration.     

Mechanical,electrical, and thermal properties of the directionally solidified Bi-Zn-Al ternary eutectic alloy

A Bi-2.0Zn-0.2Al (wt%) ternary eutectic alloy was prepared using a vacuum melting furnace and a casting furnace. The samples were directionally solidified upwards at a constant growth rate (V = 18.4 μm/s) under different temperature gradients (G = 1.15–3.44 K/mm) and at a constant temperature gradient (G = 2.66 K/mm) under different growth rates (V = 8.3–500 μm/s) in a Bridgman-type directional solidification furnace. The dependence of microstructure parameter (λ) on the solidification parameters (G and V) and that of the microhardness (Hv) on the microstructure and solidification parameters were investigated. The resistivity (ρ) measurements of the studied alloy were performed using the standard four-point-probe method, and the temperature coefficient of resistivity (α) was calculated from the ρ-T curve. The enthalpy (ΔH) and the specific heat (C_p) values were determined by differential scanning calorimetry analysis. In addition, the thermal conductivities of samples, obtained using the Wiedemann-Franz and Smith-Palmer equations, were compared with the experimental results. The results revealed that, the thermal conductivity values obtained using the Wiedemann-Franz and Smith-Palmer equations for the Bi-2.0Zn-0.2Al (wt%) alloy are in the range of 5.2–6.5 W/Km and 15.2–16.4 W/Km, respectively.     

Preparation of high selectivity silicalite-1 membranes by two-step <Emphasis Type="Italic">in situ</Emphasis> hydrothermal synthesis

High selectivity silicalite-1 membranes were synthesized on silica tubes by in situ hydrothermal synthesis. Using a two-step synthesis, a membrane with a separation factor of 99 was prepared for separating an ethanol/water mixture at 60°C. The average (n = 4) flux and separation factor of the membranes were 0.47 kg m-2 h-1 and 89, respectively. The membranes exhibited high reproducibility, and the relative standard deviation of the average (n = 4) flux and separation factor were only 5.3% and 9.2%, respectively. These results suggest that silica is a suitable support for synthesis of high-performance silicalite-1 membranes.     

Effect of continuous induction annealing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of copper-clad aluminum flat bars

Copper-clad aluminum (CCA) flat bars produced by the continuous casting–rolling process were subjected to continuous induction heating annealing (CIHA), and the effects of induction heating temperature and holding time on the microstructure, interface, and mechanical properties of the flat bars were investigated. The results showed that complete recrystallization of the copper sheath occurred under CIHA at 460°C for 5 s, 480°C for 3 s, or 500°C for 1 s and that the average grain size in the copper sheath was approximately 10.0 μm. In the case of specimens subjected to CIHA at 460–500°C for longer than 1 s, complete recrystallization occurred in the aluminum core. In the case of CIHA at 460–500°C for 1–5 s, a continuous interfacial layer with a thickness of 2.5–5.5 μm formed and the thickness mainly increased with increasing annealing temperature. After CIHA, the interfacial layer consisted primarily of a Cu₉Al₄ layer and a CuAl₂ layer; the average interface shear strength of the CCA flat bars treated by CIHA at 460–500°C for 1–5 s was 45–52 MPa. After full softening annealing, the hardness values of the copper sheath and the aluminum core were HV 65 and HV 24, respectively, and the hardness along the cross section of the CCA flat bar was uniform.     

In vitro and in vivo investigation of bacterial cellulose dressing containing uniform silver sulfadiazine nanoparticles for burn wound healing

Silver sulfadiazine(SSD) particles in homogeneous dispersion state were prepared by an ultrasonic method and then nano- and microparticles were separated using centrifugation. SSD particles with narrow size distribution were impregnated with bacterial cellulose(BC) to produce BC–SSD composite membrane used as burn wound dressing. A scanning electron microscope(SEM) was used to examine the surface morphology of BC–SSD membranes. The incorporation of SSD in BC–SSD was confirmed by X-ray diffraction(XRD). Antimicrobial tests in vitro indicated that BC–SSD showed excellent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. The effects of BC–SSD on burn wound healing were assessed by rat models. The comparative study confirmed that the wound treated with BC–SSD showed high healing rate. The bacteria count in BC–SSD group was far less than control group. Histological analysis showed that epithelialization progressed better in wound treated with BC–SSD. These values demonstrated that the BC–SSD composite membrane could be a promising wound dressing for burn.     

Microstructure and oxidation resistance of SiC–MoSi2 multi-phase coating for SiC coated C/C composites

In order to improve the anti-oxidation of C/C composites, a SiC–MoSi2multi-phase coating for SiC coated carbon/carbon composites(C/C)was prepared by low pressure chemical vapor deposition(LPCVD) using methyltrichlorosilane(MTS) as precursor, combined with slurry painting from MoSi2 powder. The phase composition and morphology were analyzed by scanning electron microscope(SEM) and X-ray diffraction(XRD) methods, and the deposition mechanism was discussed. The isothermal oxidation and thermal shock resistance were investigated in a furnace containing air environment at 1500 1C. The results show that the as-prepared SiC–MoSi2coating consists of MoSi2 particles as a dispersing phase and CVD–SiC as a continuous phase. The weight loss of the coated samples is 1.51% after oxidation at 1500 1C for 90 h, and 4.79% after 30 thermal cycles between 1500 1C and room temperature. The penetrable cracks and cavities in the coating served as the diffusion channel of oxygen, resulted in the oxidation of C/C composites, and led to the weight loss in oxidation.     

Critical relative indentation depth in carbon based thinfilms

The thin film hardness estimation by nanoindentation is influenced by substrate beyond a critical relative indentation depth(CRID). In this study we developed a methodology to identify the CRID in amorphous carbon film. Three types of amorphous carbon film deposited on silicon have been studied. The nanoindentation tests were carried out applying a 0.1–10 mN load range on a Berkovich diamond tip, leading to penetration depth-to-film thickness ratios of 8–100%. The work regained during unloading(We) and the work performed during loading(Wt) was estimated for each indentation. The trend of unload-to-load ratio(We/Wt) data as a function of depth has been studied. We/Wtdepth profiles showed a sigmoid trend and the data were fitted by means of a Hill sigmoid equation. Using Hill sigmoid fit and a simple analytical method it is possible to estimate CRID of carbon based films.     

Tubular pure copper grain refining by tube cyclic extrusion–compression (TCEC) as a severe plastic deformation technique

Tube Cyclic Extrusion–Compression(TCEC) method is a novel severe plastic deformation technique developed for grain refining of cylindrical tubes to ultrafine grained(UFG)/nanostructured ones. In this method, tubes are fully constrained and deformed between chamber and mandrel with a small neck zone. The principle of TCEC technique which was adopted to impose severe plastic strains to the tubular materials was explained. Also, the deformation and grain fragmentation mechanism during TCEC was analyzed. The material deformation characteristics during TCEC were numerically simulated by FE code of ABAQUS/Explicit. The FEM results demonstrated that TCEC technique was able to impose extremely high plastic strains. The TCEC method was successfully applied to a commercially pure copper(99.99%) and significant grain refinement was achieved. TEM observation demonstrated the refinement of grains from the initial size of 45 μm to 200–350 nm after four processing cycles of TCEC. Microhardness measurements were carried out across the thickness of the initial and processed tubes. The results show good homogeneity of hardness distribution and an increase to 102 Hv from initial value of 55 Hv after four TCEC cycles. Mechanical properties of the specimens were extracted from tensile tests. The obtained results documented notable increase in the yield and ultimate strengths, whereas the uniform and total elongations decreased. Fracture surfaces after tensile tests were investigated by scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and the observed morphology indicates ductile fracture mode after four cycles of TCEC.     

Characterization and adsorption behavior of a novel triolein-embedded activated carbon composite adsorbent

A novel triolein-embedded activated carbon composite adsorbent was developed. Experiments were carried out in areas such as the preparation method, the characterization of physicochemicai properties, and the adsorption behavior of the composite adsorbent in removing dieldrin from aqueous solution. Results suggested that the novel composite adsorbent was composed of the supporting activated carbon and the surrounding triolein-embedded cellulose acetate membrane. The adsorbent was stable in water, for no triolein leakage was detected after soaking the adsorbent for five weeks. The adsorbent had good adsorption capability to dieldrin, which was indicated by a residual dieldrin concentration of 0.204μg·L^-1. The removal efficiency of the composite adsorbent was higher than the traditional activated carbon adsorbent.     

采用超声组装与滚压工艺制备铝–碳纳米管复合材料

This study introduced a novel fabrication of aluminum–carbon nanotube (CNT) composites by employing bulk acoustic waves and accumulative roll bonding (ARB). In this method, CNT particles were aligned using ultrasonic standing wave in an aqueous media, and the arrayed particles were precipitated on the aluminum plate substrate. Then, the plates rolled on each other through the ARB process with four passes. Optical and scanning electron micrographs demonstrated the effective aligning of CNTs on the aluminum substrate with a negligible deviation of arrayed CNTs through the ARB process. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the developed composites showed no peaks for carbon and aluminum carbide. In addition, tensile tests showed that the longitudinal strength of the specimens processed with aligned CNTs was significantly greater than that of the specimens with common randomly dispersed particles. The proposed technique is beneficial for the fabrication of Al–CNT composites with directional mechanical strength.     

Comparison of different triolein-based composite semipermeable membranes for passive sampling of organochlorine pesticides

Passive sampling methods have been widely used for more than 20 years because they can provide information on time-weighted average concentrations(CTWA) of hydrophobic organic contaminants in water.Many factors affect the efficiency and applicability of a passive sampling process.Among others,selection of the sampler design and choice of the supporting membrane material are important factors that determine the performance of passive samplers.In this work,the influences of some critical properties of membranes,such as membrane density,hydrophilicity of the membrane surface,and chemical and mechanical resistances,on the uptake of organic chlorinated pesticides(OCPs) were evaluated.Four membrane materials,namely cellulose acetate(CA),cellulose acetate butyrate(CAB),a cellulose acetate-cellulose triacetate blend(CA-CTA),and cellulose triacetate(CTA),and their triolein-embedded samplers were selected for the study.The four membranes are all hydrophilic;CAB has the highest contact angle and CA has the lowest.CTA is chemically and mechanically resistant,and has better tensile strength than the other membranes have.CAB does not have good chemical resistance and dissolves in hexane/dichloromethane solvent.CA and CTA alone showed lower uptake rates for the selected OCPs than with triolein-embedded passive samplers,indicating that triolein increased the accumulation capacity.Triolein-embedded CA(TECAM),CA-CTA(TECA-CTA),CTA(TECTA),and CAB(TECAB) as passive samplers showed similar uptake patterns;TECTA showed the highest uptake rates and TECAB showed the poorest accumulation.In summary,TECTA gave the best performance among all the tested composite semipermeable membranes.     

Experimental study on centrifugal concrete-filled steel tubes under bending and torsion

A real-size experiment on 11 tubes was done to study the performance of centrifugal concrete-filled steel tubes under bending and torsion. This paper first introduces the relevant operating method, equipment, subjects and processes. The factors that affect deformation and stiffness and the break mechanism under different loading were studied. Experimental stress analysis showed that the values of practical critical stress of steel tubes accorded well with the MISES Yielding Rule. The correlative equation (on the bearing capacity of a structural member under bending and torsion) deduced in this study may provide valuable reference for the desima of this structural member.     

Numerical simulation of flash reduction in a drop tube reactor with variable temperatures

A computational fluid dynamics(CFD)model was developed to accurately predict the flash reduction process,which is considered an efficient alternative ironmaking process.Laboratory-scale experiments were conducted in drop tube reactors to verify the accuracy of the CFD model.The reduction degree of ore particles was selected as a critical indicator of model prediction,and the simulated and experimental results were in good agreement.The influencing factors,including the particle size(20–110μm),peak temperature(1250–1550°C),and reductive atmosphere(H₂/CO),were also investigated.The height variation lines indicated that small particles(50μm)had a longer residence time(3.6 s)than large particles.CO provided a longer residence time(~1.29 s)than H₂(~1.09 s).However,both the experimental and analytical results showed that the reduction degree of particles in CO was significantly lower than that in H2 atmosphere.The optimum experimental particle size and peak temperature for the preparation of high-quality reduced iron were found to be 50μm and 1350°C in H2 atmosphere,and40μm and 1550°C in CO atmosphere,respectively.     

Preparation of a novel PAN/cellulose acetate-Ag based activated carbon nanofiber and its adsorption performance for low-concentration SO_2

Polyacrylonitrile(PAN), PAN/cellulose acetate(CA), and PAN/CA-Ag based activated carbon nanofiber(ACNF) were prepared using electrostatic spinning and further heat treatment. Thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry(TG–DSC) analysis indicated that the addition of CA or Ag did not have a significant impact on the thermal decomposition of PAN materials but the yields of fibers could be improved. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM) analysis showed that the micromorphologies of produced fibers were greatly influenced by the viscosity and conductivity of precursor solutions. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR) analysis proved that a cyclized or trapezoidal structure could form and the carbon scaffold composed of C=C bonds appeared in the PAN-based ACNFs. The characteristic diffraction peaks in X-ray diffraction(XRD) spectra were the evidence of a turbostratic structure and silver existed in the PAN/CA-Ag based ACNF. Brunner–Emmett–Teller(BET) analysis showed that the doping of CA and Ag increased surface area and micropore volume of fibers; particularly, PAN/CA-Ag based ACNF exhibited the best porosity feature. Furthermore, SO2 adsorption experiments indicated that all the three fibers had good adsorption effects on lower concentrations of SO2 at room temperature; especially, the PAN/CA-Ag based ACNF showed the best adsorption performance, and it may be one of the most promising adsorbents used in the fields of chemical industry and environment protection.     

Solid-particle erosion behavior of cast alloys used in the mining industry

The erosive-wear response of five commercial ferrous-based cast alloys used for crushing was examined in this study. The micro-structures of the alloys were modified to elucidate the effect of microstructural features on wear. Erosion tests were conducted using alumi-num oxide particles (90–125 μm) at 70 m/s and a normal impact angle (90°). The worn surfaces were characterized by scanning electron mi-croscopy and 3D non-contact laser profilometry. It is found that (i) a pearlitic structure exhibiting a greater plastic deformation than both bainitic and martensitic structures shows the greatest resistance to erosive wear at normal impact and (ii) the fracture characteristics of car-bide and graphite particles plays an important role in determining the erosion wear behavior of the cast alloy matrices.     

Synthesis and magnetic properties of Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>/helical carbon nanofiber nanocomposites from the catalytic pyrolysis of ferrocene

High purity Fe3O4 /helical carbon nanofiber composites were obtained on a large scale by the catalytic pyrolysis of ferrocene in the presence of tin powder at 500°C over 12 h. The sizes of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles are 35–65 nm in size, and the diameters of the helical carbon nanofibers range from 40–70 nm. The shapes and compositions of the nanocomposites are simply controlled by adjusting the reaction temperatures. On the basis of the obtained experimental results the formation of the helical Fe3O4/carbon nanofiber composites was investigated and discussed. The magnetic hysteresis loop of the products shows ferromagnetic behavior with saturation magnetization (M s ), remanent magnetization (M r ) and coercivity (H c ) values of ca. 29.8 emu/g, 9.6 emu/g and 306.6 Oe, respectively.     

Optoelectronic and electrochemical behaviour of γ-CuI thin films prepared by solid iodination process

A simple and efficient solid iodination method has been proposed for the fabrication of p-type γ-CuI thin films.The structural,morphological,optical,electrical and electrochemical properties have been investigated in order to serve as an effective hole-transporting layer in solid-state solar cells.The fabricated films exhibited p-type conductivity with resistivity of 7.0×10~(-2)Ωcm,the hole concentration of ～1.13×10~(19)cm~(-3)and the mobility of 18.34 cm~(-2)V~(-1)s~(-1).The cyclic voltammetry result shows a maximum specific capacitance of 43 mF/cm~2 at a scan rate of 10 mV/s.The cyclic stability and capacitance retention were found to be 99.7%.These findings demonstrate that γ-CuI film can be a potential candidate for multiple applications,such as a hole transporting material for solid-state solar cells and electrochemical supercapacitor.     

Research of special carbon nanobeads supported Pt catalyst for fuel cell through high temperature pyrolysis and deposition from novel phthalocyanine

The carbon nanobeads were prepared through high temperature pyrolysis and deposition from phthalocyanine. After surface‘s functionalization treatment of the carbon beads, the carbon nanobeads supported Pt catalyst was produced. The Pt/C catalyst was characterized by SEM, TEM, Raman spectrum, EDS and XRD methods. Combining the carbonaceous paper spreaded up with the catalyst with Nafion membrane, we made MEA electrode. The discharge curves indicated that this carbon nanobeads supported Pt is a good fuel cell catalyst with excellent performance, high activity and sign of a long-time life.     

Microstructure and electrolysis behavior of self-healing Cu-Ni-Fe composite inert anodes for aluminum electrowinning

The microstructure evolution and electrolysis behavior of(Cu_(52)Ni_(30)Fe_(18))–x Ni Fe_2O_4(x=40wt%,50wt%,60wt%,and 70wt%)composite inert anodes for aluminum electrowinning were studied.Ni Fe_2O_4 was synthesized by solid-state reaction at 950°C.The dense anode blocks were prepared by ball-milling followed by sintering under a N_2 atmosphere.The phase evolution of the anodes after sintering was determined by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.The results indicate that a substitution reaction between Fe in the alloy phase and Ni in the oxide phase occurs during the sintering process.The samples were also examined as inert anodes for aluminum electrowinning in the low-temperature KF–NaF–AlF_3 molten electrolyte for 24 h.The cell voltage during electrolysis and the corrosion scale on the anodes were analyzed.The results confirm that the scale has a self-repairing function because of the synergistic reaction between the alloy phase with Fe added and the oxide phase.The estimated wear rate of the(Cu_(52)Ni_(30)Fe_(18))–50Ni Fe_2O_4 composite anode is 2.02 cm·a~(-1).     

Adhesive strength of CVD diamond thin films quantitatively measured by means of the bulge and blister test

Large advancement has been made in understanding the nucleation and growth of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond, but the adhesion of CVD diamond to substrates is poor and there is no good method for quantitative evaluation of the adhesive strength. The blister test is a potentially powerful tool for characterizing the mechanical properties of diamond films. In this test, pressure was applied on a thin membrane and the out-of-plane deflection of the membrane center was measured. The Young's modulus, residual stress, and adhesive strength were simultaneously determined using the load-deflection behavior of a membrane. The free-standing window sample of diamond thin films was fabricated by means of photolithography and anisotropic wet etching. The research indicates that the adhesive strength of diamond thin films is 4.28±0.37 J/m2. This method uses a simple apparatus, and the fabrication of samples is very easy.