Structural regulation and polishing performance of dendritic mesoporous silica (D-mSiO2) supported with samarium-doped cerium oxide composites

Ceria (CeO₂) particles are prevalent polishing abrasive materials. Trivalent lanthanide ions are the popular category of dopants for enriched surface defects and thus improved physicochemical properties, since they are highly compatible with CeO₂ lattices. Herein, a series of dendritic-like mesoporous silica (D-mSiO₂)-supported samarium (Sm)-doped CeO₂ nanocrystals were synthesized via a facile chemical precipitation method. The relation of the structural characteristics and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) performances were investigated to explore the effect of Sm-doping amounts on the D-mSiO₂/Sm_xCe_1?xO_2?δ (x = 0–1) composite abrasives. The involved low-modulus D-mSiO₂ cores aimed to eliminate surface scratch and damage, resulting from the optimized contact behavior between abrasives and surfaces. The trivalent cerium (Ce³⁺) and oxygen vacancy (V_O) at CeO₂ surfaces were expected to be reactive sites for the material removal process over SiO₂ films. The optimal oxide-CMP performances in terms of removal efficiency and surface quality were achieved by the 40% Sm-doped composite abrasives. It might be attributed to the high Ce³⁺ and V_O concentrations and the enhancement of tribochemical reactivity between CeO₂SiO₂ interfaces. Furthermore, the relationship between the surface chemistry, polishing performance as well as the actual role in oxide-CMP of the D-mSiO₂/Sm_xCe_1?xO_2?δ abrasives were also discussed.     

Numerical study on laminar burning velocity of ammonia flame with methanol addition

The combustion characteristics of ammonia/methanol mixtures were investigated numerically in this study. Methanol has a dramatic promotive effect on the laminar burning velocity (LBV) of ammonia. Three mechanisms from literature and another four self-developed mechanisms constructed in this study were evaluated using the measured laminar burning velocities of ammonia/methanol mixtures from Wang et al. (Combust.Flame. 2021). Generally, none of the selected mechanisms can precisely predict the measured laminar burning velocities at all conditions. Aiming to develop a simplified and reliable mechanism for ammonia/methanol mixtures, the constructed mechanism utilized NUI Galway mechanism (Combust.Flame. 2016) as methanol sub-mechanism and the Otomo mechanism (Int. J. Hydrogen. Energy. 2018) as ammonia sub-mechanism was optimized and reduced. The reduced mechanism entitled ‘DNO-NH3’, can accurately reproduce the measured laminar burning velocities of ammonia/methanol mixtures under all conditions. A reaction path analysis of the ammonia/methanol mixtures based on the DNO-NH3 mechanism shows that methanol is not directly involved in ammonia oxidation, instead, the produced methyl radicals from methanol oxidization contribute to the dehydrogenation of ammonia. Besides, NO_x emission analysis demonstrates that 60% methanol addition results in the highest NO_x emissions. The most important reactions dominating the NO_x consumption and production are identified in this study.     

Plasma assists titanium nitride and surface modified titanium nitride nanoparticles from titanium scraps for magnetic properties and supercapacitor applications

Plasma methods are efficient processing for metal recovery from metal scrap, bearing minerals, electronic waste, etc. In this work, pure titanium nitride nanoparticles (TiN NPs) were synthesized from titanium scraps by the thermal plasma arc discharge (TPAD) method. TPAD synthesized TiN NPs have a highly crystalline nature with cubic and spherical morphologies with average particle sizes of 30–100 nm. Further, prepared TiN NPs involving surface modification (SM) or etching processes were investigated by using the non-thermal DC glow discharge plasma technique with air atmosphere at different processing times. SM@TiN NPs have a comparatively low crystalline, which was confirmed from the powder X-ray diffraction technique. SM@TiN NPs have very interesting core shell morphologies, which are due to the surface interactions of ionized air molecules. TiN and SM@TiN NPs have room-temperature ferromagnetic properties with high saturation magnetization (Ms) up to 2.6 and 3.0 emu/g and very high coercivity (Hc) of 235.5 Oe, respectively. TiN and SM@TiN NPs have superior energy storage performance with an outstanding specific capacitance of 192.8 and 435.1 F/g at a current density of 2 A/g with pseudocapacitive behavior. These results reveal that TiN and SM@TiN NPs have highly promising electrodes for supercapacitor applications.     

Experimental research on combined effect of obstacle and local spraying water fog on hydrogen/air premixed explosion

In order to reveal the mechanism of water fog explosion suppression and research the combined effect of water fog and obstacle on hydrogen/air deflagration, multiple sets of experiments were set up. The results show that the instability of thermal diffusion under lean combustion conditions is the main influencing factor of hydrogen/air flame surface instability, and the existence of water fog will aggravate the hydrogen/air flame surface instability. When obstacle is not considered, 8 μm, 15 μm, 30 μm water fog can significantly reduce the flame velocity and explosion overpressure of hydrogen/air, 45 μm fine water fog plays the opposite role. When considering the relative position of the water fog release position and the obstacle, the 8 μm, 15 μm, 30 μm water fog has almost no suppression effect when released near the obstacle, but a significant suppression effect occur, when using the 45 μm water fog. In the field of theoretical research, the research results not only provide an experimental basis for the fine water fog to reduce the consequences of hydrogen explosion accidents, and the optimal diameter range used by the water fog, but also provide experimental reference for the numerical simulation of hydrogen/air explosion suppression in semi-open space, and promote the development of hydrogen explosion suppression theory. In terms of engineering applications, this study can provide a theoretical basis for the layout of fire fighting equipment in the engine room of nuclear power plants or hydrogen-powered ships.     

Effects of structural parameters on water film properties of transpiring wall reactor

Corrosion and salt deposition problems severely restrict the industrialization of supercritical water oxidation. Transpiring wall reactor can effectively weaken these two problems by a protective water film. In this work, methanol was selected as organic matter, and the influences of vital structural parameters on water film properties and organic matter removal were studied via numerical simulation. The results indicate that higher than 99% of methanol conversion could be obtained and hardly affected by transpiration water layer, transpiring wall porosity and inner diameter. Increasing layer and porosity reduced reactor center temperature, but inner diameter's influence was lower relatively. Water film temperature reduced but coverage rate raised as layer, porosity, and inner diameter increased. Notably, the whole reactor was in supercritical state and coverage rate was only approximately 85% in the case of one layer. Increasing reactor length affected slightly the volume of the upper supercritical zone but enlarged the subcritical zone.     

Structural,electrical, and linear/nonlinear optical characteristics of thermally evaporated molybdenum oxide thin films

Homogeneous thin films of Molybdenum oxide (MoO₃) were grown on quartz and glass substrates using the thermal evaporation method. XRD results showed that the MoO₃ powder has a polycrystalline structure with an orthorhombic crystal system whereas the MoO₃ thin films have amorphous nature. SEM images showed that the MoO₃ thin films have a nearly uniform surfaces with worm-like shape grains. The film thickness influences on the linear and nonlinear optical characteristics of MoO₃ thin films that were examined using spectrophotometric measurements and from which, the linear optical constants of the MoO₃ thin films were estimated. The electronic transition type was determined as a direct allowed one. The values of the optical band gap were obtained to be in the range of 3.88–3.72 eV. The dispersion parameters, third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility, and the nonlinear refractive index of the MoO₃ thin films were determined and interpreted in the light of the single oscillator model. The temperature dependence of the DC electrical conductivity and the corresponding conduction mechanism for the MoO₃ films were investigated at temperatures ranging from 303 to 463 K.     

High Q×f values of Zn-Ni co-modified LiMg0.9Zn0.1-xNixPO4 microwave dielectric ceramics for 5G/6G LTCC modules

In this work, Zn-Ni co-modified LiMg_0.9Zn_0.1-xNi_xPO₄ (x = 0–0.1) microwave dielectric ceramics were fabricated using a solid state synthesis route. Rietveld refinement of the XRD data revealed that all ceramic samples have formed a single phase with olivine structure. SEM images showed that the samples have a dense microstructure, that agrees with the measured relative density of 97.73 %. Based on the complex chemical bond theory, Raman and infrared reflectance spectra, we postulate that ε_r is mainly affected by the ionic polarizability, lattice and bond energy, while P-O bond plays a decisive role in Q×f and τ_f value. Optimum properties of Q×f ~ 153,500 GHz, ε_r ~ 7.13 and τ_f ~ ?59 ppm/°C were achieved for the composition LiMg_0.9Zn_0.06Ni_0.04PO₄ sintered at 875 ℃ for 2 h. This set of properties makes these ceramics an excellent candidate for LTCC, wave-guide filters and antennas for 5 G/6 G communication applications.     

Spin-state regulating of cobalt assisted by iron doping and coordination for enhanced oxygen evolution reaction

Customizing catalysts from the electronic structure, such as spin state, is an effective but challenging strategy for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, an ultrafine Co–Fe material highly dispersed on nitrogen carbide matrix is fabricated by coordination polymer and self-templating method to scrutinize the impact of spin state of Co on OER through Fe doping. The optimized catalyst shows boosted OER performance, which only requires overpotential of 333 mV at 10 mA cm^?2, outperforming other control samples and commercial RuO₂. The elevated local spin states of Co by Fe doping lead to charge transfer acceleration and fast generation of oxygenated intermediates, which is proved to account for the OER elevation. In addition, the long-term stability of Co–Fe material is guaranteed by the strong coordination of Co/Fe to the melamine-formaldehyde resin, which is used to adsorb metal ions, contributing to the high dispersion of active sites during the OER process.     

Understanding on the hydrogen detection of plasma sprayed tin oxide/tungsten oxide (SnO2/WO3) sensor

The plasma spray technique was well proven in producing metal oxide based gas sensors in the last two decades using different powder feedstocks. However, limited research was made to fabricate hydrogen gas sensor from tin oxide layer coated over tungsten oxide layer. This paper attempts to interpret the hydrogen gas sensing performances of plasma sprayed coating derived by depositing tin oxide layer over tungsten oxide (SnO₂/WO₃) layer. Plasma sprayed SnO₂/WO₃ sensor showed maximum response of 90% at 150 °C in contrast to stand-alone WO₃ (89% at 350 °C) and stand-alone SnO₂ (89% at 250 °C). The lower operating temperature of SnO₂/WO₃ sensor without compromising gas response was attributed to the WO₃–SnO₂ hetero-junction. SnO₂/WO₃ sensor showed selective sensing towards hydrogen with respect to carbon monoxide and methane gases. This sensor also possessed repeatable characteristics after 39 days from the initial measurement. In a nut-shell, plasma spayed SnO₂/WO₃ sensor showed stability of base resistance, repeatability after successive response and recovery cycles, selective sensing towards 500 ppm H₂ with significant magnitude of gas response of 90%, response time of 35 s and recovery time of 269 s at a temperature of 150 °C.     

Manufacturing catalyst-coated membranes by ultrasonic spray deposition for PEMFC: Identification of key parameters and their impact on PEMFC performance

This study deals with the manufacturing of catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) for newcomers in the field of coating. Although there are many studies on electrode ink composition for improving the performance of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), there are few papers dealing with electrode coating itself. Usually, it is a know-how that often remains secret and constitutes the added value of scientific teams or the business of industrialists. In this paper, we identify and clarify the role of key parameters to improve coating quality and also to correlate coating quality with fuel cell performance via polarization curves and electrochemical active surface area measurements. We found that the coating configurations can affect the performance of lab-made CCMs in PEMFCs. After the repeatability of the performance obtained by our coating method has been proved, we show that: (i) edge effects, due to mask shadowing - cannot be neglected when the active surface area is low, (ii) a heterogeneous thickness electrode produces performance lower than a homogeneous thickness electrode, and (iii) the origin and storage of platinum on carbon powders are a very important source of variability in the obtained results.