Effect of Calcining Temperature on the Structure of Li_4Ti_5O_(12)

1 Introduction Recently there had considerable interest in Li4Ti5O12 as a potential anode for use in Li-ion batteries. Usually, it was used as an anode combined with a high voltage cathode[1-5]. It has many advantages compared to the currently used graphite. For example, it presents virtually unlimited cycle life due to zero strain or volume change when lithium intercalates into and de-intercalates from[6]. Generally, Li4Ti5O12 was prepared by a solid-state reaction from stoichiometric amounts of Li2CO3 and TiO2. However, the different calcining temperature has strong influence on the structure and electrochemical properties of Li4Ti5O12.     

Temperature dependence of surface enhanced Raman scattering on C_(70)

In 1985, Kroto et al. reported a novel C60 molecule consisting of 60 carbon atoms[1]. Five years later, Krtschmer et al. first synthesized the mixture of C60/C70[2]. Immediately, the investigation on the third form of pure carbon fullerenes, except diamond and graphite, became a focus in corresponding fields. In the same year, Bethune et al. observed ten vibrational modes from the solid film of C60 and this was of essential significance for identification of the football-shaped structure of…     

Electronic Structure and Electron-transport Properties of Peanut-shaped C_(60) Polymers with a Negative Gauss Curvature

1 Results When a C60 film was irradiated with electron-beam (EB) with an incident energy of 3 kV, a peanut-shaped C60 polymer with metallic properties was formed[1], as shown in Fig.1. To elucidate the origin of the metallic properties of the peanut-shaped polymer, we examined the valence photoelectron spectra of the polymer using in situ high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy and found that the electronic states of the polymer came across the Fermi level (EF)[2]. Interestingly, the spectral shape in the vicinity of the EF remained almost unchanged in a temperature range of 50-350 K, and is very similar to that of quasi one-dimensional materials, such as K0.3MO3, with metallic phase. This predicts that the peanut-shaped polymer has quasi one-dimensional structure with the Peierls transition. If the polymer shows the transition at a given temperature, the spectral shape in the vicinity of the EF should correspondingly be changed around the critical temperature. Indeed, we observed the change of the spectral shape at around 100 K, indicating that some energy gap was formed below the temperature. In addition, the lifetime of the photo-excited carriers increased noticeably at around 60 K.     

Color Matching for Fiber Blends Based on Stearns-Noechel Model

IntroductionMany industrial applications use blends of coloredfibers to produce special effects such as nonsolid or mottledappearance[1].In this case ,it is i mportant to predict theproportions of colored fibers in a blend. Up to now,thecolor mixing behaviour of pre-colored fiber blends has beendescribed in some papers , various empirical and semi-empirical methods are developed to color matching processof pre-colored fiber blends . Only Datacolor InternationalCompany has the commercial soft…     

Investigation of tribological properties of composite C60-LB films

C60, as the third allotrope of carbon element, has al- ways received much attention from material scientists since it was found by Kroto in 1985. It is endowed with many special characteristics[1-4] due to its symmetrical structure such as photo-induced e…     

Structure of self-assembled monolayer of NPAN on Au(111) electrode

Recently, much attention has been paid to the self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) or Langmuir-Blodgett films (LB films) of molecules bearing azobenzene group on the surface. Azobenzene derivatives are attractive ow-ing to their interesting photoresoponsive behavior[1—5]. Azobenzene and its derivatives take both trans (E) and cis (Z) structures with respect to the azo linkage and normally exist in the more stable trans form[6]. Being irradiated with appropriate light, organic molecules and po…     

The Gas Sensitivity of Polypyrrole Film Fabricated by in Situ Polymerization

1 Results Polypyrrole (PPy) is a typical conducting polymer with high conductivity and good stability,and has been widely used for detection of gases including ammonia and nitroxide[1].However the reversiblity and selectivity of the response to these gases are always not satisfying.In the paper,conductive PPy film was deposited on the interdigital electrode modified by one bilayer of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) and poly(sodium styrenesulfonate),by in-situ polymerization with FeCl3 as oxidizing agent and p-toluene sulfonic acid (p-TSA) as the doping agent[2] to prepare a resistive-type gas sensor.Its gas sensitive properties to NH3 ranged from 5.5×10-5 to 3.3×10-3 was investigated at room temperature,and it was found that its sensitivity was greatly affected by the polymerization time,concentration of FeCl3,p-TSA and monomer.Prolonging the polymerization time or increasing the concentration of the oxidizing agent or doping agent resulted in a lower resistance and smaller sensitivity of the PPy film.     

Early Paleozoic granite in Nujiang River of northwest Yunnan in southwestern China and its tectonic implications

The Nujiang region along the China-Burma border in the western Yunnan has received a great deal of attention and has been considered to be the important channel of southeastward escape of the Tibetan Plateau[1-4]. This channel is bordered by the Red River-Ailao Mountain left-literal strick-slip fault in the east and Gaoligong- Sagaing right-literal strick-slip fault in the west[5-7]. Within this channel, it is still not clear to which tectonic     

Ferroelectricity of weak-polar organic molecules in alternate Langmuir-Blodgett multilayer films

Pyroelectric material is a polar solid and has been interested since the 1960s. Today it is one of important materials used in infrared detectors[1]. With the development of the devices, the focus point on the materials applied has been transferred from bulk materials to film ones. Ferroelectric material is a kind of pyroelectric materials which spontaneous polarization can be reversed with the direction change of external electric field. Observation of ferroelectric hysteresis loop or not cou…     

Supramolecular Organization of Functional Dendrimers

1 Results The possibility to develop large multifunctional macromolecular structures which can further self-assemble into nanosized objects,makes liquid-crystalline dendrimers highly attractive candidates in the field of materials science and may represent an original strategy for the realisation of molecular electronic-based devices[1-2].Sophisticated nanostructures obtained with dendrimers where mesogenic groups are not only located at the periphery of the dendrimer[3] but also at the branching points of the dendritic core will be considered [4].Segmented fullero-dendrimers,constituted of two distinct lobes,connected to C60 moieties through fulleropyrolidone,also exhibit lamellar or columnar structures depending on the exact nature of each dendritic hemisphere.The detailed molecular organization within these phases and more specifically how the C60 moieties are distributed will be discussed in details[5].     

Intense laser induced field ionization of C<Subscript>2</Subscript>H<Subscript>2</Subscript>, C<Subscript>2</Subscript>H<Subscript>4</Subscript>, and C<Subscript>2</Subscript>H<Subscript>6</Subscript>

Using HOMO Field Ionization Model, the tunneling probabilities and the theoretical threshold intensities of the field ionizations of acetylene, ethylene, and ethane in intense laser field are calculated. C2H2, C2H4, and C2H6 were irradiated by 800 nm, 100 fs laser pulses with the intensity range of 10^13-10^14 W/cm^2. A TOF-mass spectrometer was coupled to the laser system and used to experimentally investigate the field ionization of these molecules. The experimental ionization threshold intensities are obtained. The calculating results of the three molecules agree well with the experimental results, indicating that HOMO Field Ionization Model is valid for the ionization of polyatomic molecules in intense laser field.     

Molecular simulation study of the binding mechanism of [α-PTi<Subscript>2</Subscript>W<Subscript>10</Subscript>O<Subscript>40</Subscript>]<Superscript>7−</Superscript> for its promising broad-spectrum inhibitory activity to FluV-A neuraminidase

Polyoxometalate (POM) has promising antiviral activities. It shows broad-spectrum inhibiting ability, high efficiency, and low tox-icity. Experimental assays show that titanium containing polyoxotungstates have anti-influenza-virus activity. In this paper, the bind-ing mechanisms of five isomers of di-Ti-substituted polyoxotungstate, [α-1,2-PTi₂W₁₀O₄₀]^7– (α-1,2), [α-1,6-PTi₂W₁₀O₄₀]^7– (α-1,6), [α-1,5-PTi₂W₁₀O₄₀]^7– (α-1,5), [α-1,4-PTi₂W₁₀O₄₀]^7– (α-1,4) and [α-1,11-PTi₂W₁₀O₄₀]^7– (α-1,11), to five subtypes of influenza virus A neuraminidase (FluV-A NA) were investigated in the context of aqueous solution by using molecular docking and molecular dynamics studies. The results show that the isomer α-1,2 is superior to other isomers as a potential inhibitor to neuraminidase. The positively charged arginine residues around the active site of NA could be induced by negatively charged POM to adapt themselves and could form salt bridge interactions and hydrogen bond interactions with POM. The binding free energies of POM/NA complexes range from –5.36 to –8.31 kcal mol^–1. The electrostatic interactions are found to be the driving force during the binding process of POM to NA. The conformational analysis shows that POM tends to bind primarily with N1 and N8 at the edge of the active pocket, which causes the conformational change of the pincers structure comprising residue 347 and loop 150. Whereas, the active pockets of N2, N9 and N4 are found to be more spacious, which allows POM to enter into the active pockets directly and anchor there firmly. This study shows that negatively charged ligand as POM could induce the reorganization of the active site of NA and highlights POM as a promising inhibitor to NA despite the ever increasing mutants of NA.     

Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of Cr7C3/γ-Fe Ceramal Composite Coating Fabricated by Plasma Cladding

A new type in situ Cr7C3/γ-Fe ceramal composite coating was fabricated on substrate of hardened and tempered grade C steel by plasma cladding with Fe-Cr-C alloy powders. The ceramal composite coating has a rapidly solidified microstructure consisting of primary Cr7C3/γ- and the Cr7C3/γ-Fe eutectics, and is metallurgically bonded to the degree C steel substrate. The corrosion resistances of the coating in water solutions of 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 and 3.5% NaCl were evaluated utilizing the electrochemical polarization corrosion-test method. Because of the inherent excellent corrosion-resisting properties of the constituting phase and the rapidly solidified homogeneous microstructure, the plasma clad ceramal composite coating exhibits excellent corrosion resistance in the water solutions of 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 and 3.5% NaCl.     

Inhibition of DNA restrictive endonucleases and Taq DNA polymerase by trimalonic acid C60

Activities of trimalonic acid fullerene (TMA C_60) on DNA restrictive enzymatic reaction were investigated by using two restrictive endonucleases Hind III and EcoR I and plasmid pEGFP-N1 with single restric-tive site for both enzymes. Meanwhile, TMA C60 was also tested to clarify its effects on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with the catalyst of Taq DNA polymerase and the template of plasmid pEGFP-N1. The products from restrictive reactions or PCR were detected by agarose gel electrophoresis. It was found that the product amounts from restrictive reactions or PCR decreased significantly with addition of TMA C60. The inhibition by TMA C60 was dose-dependent and IC50 values for reactions of Hind III, EcoR I and PCR were 16.3, 6.0 and 6.0 μmol/L, respectively. Addition of two scavengers of reactive oxygen species (ROS), L-ascorbic acid-2-phosphate ester magnesium and sodium azide at the con-centrations of 2―10 mmol/L did not antagonize the activities of TMA C60 against PCR and two restrictive reactions. However, increase of Taq DNA polymerase amounts in PCR system antagonized the activities of TMA C60. These data implied that TMA C60 was able to inhibit the activities of the three above-mentioned enzymes involved in DNA metabolism, and that this inhibition probably did not correlate to ROS.     

Reaction condition optimization and kinetic investigation of roasting zinc oxide ore using (NH<Subscript>4</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript>SO<Subscript>4</Subscript>

An orthogonal test was used to optimize the reaction conditions of roasting zinc oxide ore using (NH₄)₂SO₄. The optimized reaction conditions are defined as an (NH₄)₂SO₄/zinc molar ratio of 1.4:1, a roasting temperature of 440°C, and a thermostatic time of 60 min. The molar ratio of (NH₄)₂SO₄/zinc is the most predominant factor and the roasting temperature is the second significant factor that governs the zinc extraction. Thermogravimetric–differential thermal analysis was used for (NH₄)₂SO₄ and zinc mixed in a molar ratio of 1.4:1 at the heating rates of 5, 10, 15, and 20 K·min-1. Two strong endothermic peaks indicate that the complex chemical reactions occur at approximately 290°C and 400°C. XRD analysis was employed to examine the transformations of mineral phases during roasting process. Kinetic parameters, including reaction apparent activation energy, reaction order, and frequency factor, were calculated by the Doyle–Ozawa and Kissinger methods. Corresponding to the two endothermic peaks, the kinetic equations were obtained.     

Up-conversion luminescence of Er^3＋ doped and Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ co-doped YTaO4

The synthesis and up-conversion luminescent properties of YTaO4：Er^3＋ and YTaO4：Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ are reported for the first time. According to the measurement results of up-conversion spectra, Yb^3＋ co-doping can remarkably enhance the green （^2H11/2/^4S3/2→^4I15/2） and red （^4F9/2→^4I15/2） emissions, but depress the infrared emission （^4I9/2→^4I15/2）. With the increase of the Yb^3＋ concentration, the intensity of green emission increases, after that, when the Yb^3＋ concentration increases continuously, the intensity of green emission decreases, while those of the red and infrared emissions increase and decrease alternately. In addition, the up-conversion mechanisms of Er^3＋ doped and Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ co-doped YTaO4 are also discussed. It is found that the transform of up-conversion mechanism from two-step energy transfer to cooperating sensitization takes place when Yb^3＋ concentration is increased up to 12 mol%. With the further increase of Yb^3＋ concentration, the energy-back-transfer gradually becomes the dominant up-conversion mechanism, which results in the quenching of the green emission and slight increasing of the red and infrared emissions.     

Electrochemical properties of LiNi<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>1.3</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>0.2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>/Li<Subscript>4</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>5</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript> cells

Spinel compounds LiNi_0.5Mn_1.3Ti_0.2O₄ (LNMTO) and Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ (LTO) were synthesized by different methods. The particle sizes of LNMTO and LTO are 0.5–2 and 0.5–0.8 μm, respectively. The LNMTO/LTO cell exhibits better electrochemical properties at both a low current rate of 0.2C and a high current rate of 1C. When the specific capacity was determined based on the mass of the LNMTO cathode, the LNMTO/LTO cell delivered 137 mA·h·g⁻¹ at 0.2C and 118.2 mA·h·g⁻¹ at 1C, and the corresponding capacity retentions after 30 cycles are 88.5% and 92.4%, respectively.     

Research on C<Subscript>3</Subscript>N<Subscript>4</Subscript> superhard compound thin film and its application

By combination of DC reactive magnetron sputtering with multiple arcplating, the alternating C₃N₄/TiN compound film is deposited onto HSS. The core level binding energy and the contents of carbon and nitrogen are characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectrum. X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that compound thin film contains hard crystalline phases of α-C₃N₄ and β-C₃N₄. The Knoop microhardness in the load range of 50, 5–54, 1 GPa is measured. According to acoustic emission scratch test, the critical load values for the coatings on HSS substrates are in the range of 40–80 N. The metal coated with C₃N₄/TiN compound films has a great improvement in the resistance against corrosion. Many tests show that such a coating has a very high wearability. Compared with the uncoated and TiN coated tools, the C₃N₄/TiN coated tools have a much longer cutting life. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (19875037) Biography: Wu Da-we( (1941-), male, Professor, research direction; thin film and its application.     

Near-infrared to visible up-conversion emissions of Er^3＋ doped Al2O3 powders derived from the sol-gel method

The Er3 doped Al2O3 powders were prepared by the sol-gel method using the aluminium isopropoxide [Al(OC3H7)3]-derived Al2O3 sols with addition of the erbium nitrate [Er(NO3)3.5H2O]. The different phase structure, including three crystalline types of (Al,Er)2O3 phases, γ, θ, α, and two Er-Al-O phases, ErAlO3 and Al10Er6O24, was obtained with the 1 mol% Er3 doped Al2O3 powders at the different sintering temperatures of 600―1200℃. The green and red up-conversion emissions centered at about 523, 545 and 660 nm, corresponding respectively to the 2H11/2, 4S3/2→4I15/2 and 4F9/2→4I15/2 transitions of Er3 , were detected by a 978 nm semiconductor laser diodes excitation. The phase structure and OH content had evident influence on the up-conversion emissions intensity. The maximum intensities of both the green and red emissions were obtained respectively for the Er3 doped Al2O3 powders sintered at 1200 ℃, which was composed mainly of α-(Al,Er)2O3, less of ErAlO3 and Al10Er6O24 phases, and with the least OH content. The two-photon absorption up-conversion process was involved in the green and red up-conversion emissions of the Er3 doped Al2O3 powders.     

Rapid solidification mechanism of Ag60Sb34Cu6 ternary alloy in drop tube

Ternary eutectic growth involves competitive nu-cleation and growth of three solids from one liquid. Thesolidification behavior of ternary eutectic alloy is morecomplex than that of binary eutectic alloy due to the addi-tion of the third component[1—4]. Up to now, most scientificinvestigations on ternary eutectic alloy focus on the influ-ence of changing the component or adding a fourth even afifth element on the performance of the alloy[5—8]. How-ever, the information on crystal growth char…