This study uses silicone monomer, DMA, crosslinking agent EGDMA, and initiator AIBN as a basic combination to prepare hydrogel lenses using fluorine-based perfluoro polyether and iron oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles as additives. After manufacturing the lens using iron oxide nanoparticles and zinc oxide nanoparticles, the optical, physical properties, and polymerization stability are evaluated to investigate the possibility of application as a functional hydrogel lens material. As a result of this experiment, it is found that the addition of the wetting material containing fluorine changes the surface energy of the produced hydrogel lens, thereby improving the wettability. Also, the addition of iron oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles satisfies the basic hydrogel ophthalmic lens properties and slightly increases the UV blocking performance; it also increases the tensile strength by improving the durability of the hydrogel lens. The polymerization stability of the nanoparticles evaluated through the eluate test is found to be excellent. Therefore, it is judged that these materials can be used in various conditions as high functional hydrogel lens material.
In this study, microstructural characteristics and constituent elements of fiberglass splint and cast are examined using a scanning electron microscope and an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. As observed by the scanning electron microscope, fiberglass splint and cast had a porous structure with many bundles of fiberglass textures well assembled. Spaces between bundles of the fiberglass splint are triangular or elliptical shaped and the long-axis diameter is measured at about 1 mm. The thickness of fiber bundles covered with plaster is measured at 600 μm and the diameter of a single strand of fiberglass is up to 10 μm. The thickness of the fiberglass bundle of the fiberglass splint is measured at about 700 μm. Spaces between bundles are formed in the shape of triangles with gentle edges and long-axis diameter of up to 1.4 mm, which is larger than that of the splint. The thickness of a single strand of fiberglass of the plaster-coated cast is 11.5 μm, which is thicker than that of fiberglass of the splint. As a result of analyzing constituent elements of the fiberglass cast and the splint with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, Ca, Si, and Al components are identically detected. This result shows that the fiberglass cast has a smoother surface with hardened plaster than the fiberglass splint. The thickness of the fiberglass bundle and the thickness of a single strand of the fiberglass are also larger than those of the fiberglass splint.
The oxidation resistance of the diffusion aluminide bond coat (BC) is compromised largely by interdiffusion (ID) effects on coated turbine blades of aeroengines. The present study is designed to understand the influence of ID on βNiAl coatings or BC. In this regard, nickel substrate and CMSX-4 superalloy are deposited. In total, four sets of BCs are developed, i.e. pure βNiAl (on Ni substrate), simple βNiAl (on CMSX-4 substrate), Zr-βNiAl (on CMSX-4 substrate) and Pt-βNiAl (on CMSX-4 substrate). The main aim of this study is to understand the interdiffusion of Al, Zr and Pt during preparation and oxidation. In addition, the beneficial effects of both Zr and platinum are assessed. Pure βNiAl and simple βNiAl show Ni-outdiffusion, whereas for platinum inward diffusion to the substrate is noticed under vacuum treatment. Interestingly, Zr-βNiAl shows the least ID in all BCs and exhibit stability under both vacuum and oxidation treatments. However, its spallation resistance is slightly lower than that of Pt-βNiAl BC. All BCs show similar oxide growth trends, except for Zr-βNiAl, which exhibits two-stage oxidations, i.e. transient and steady-state. Moreover, it is suggested that the localized spallation in all BCs is caused by βNiAl - γ’-Ni3Al transformation.
Zintl compound Mg3Sb2 is a promising candidate for efficient thermoelectric material due to its small band gap energy and characteristic electron-crystal phonon-glass behavior. Furthermore, this compound enables fine tuning of carrier concentration via chemical doping for optimizing thermoelectric performance. In this study, nominal compositions of Mg3.8Sb2-xTex (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.03) are synthesized through controlled melting and subsequent vacuum hot pressing method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are carried out to investigate phase development and surface morphology during the process. It should be noted that 16 at. % of excessive Mg must be added to the system to compensate for the loss of Mg during melting process. Herein, thermoelectric properties such as Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity are evaluated from low to high temperature regimes. The results show that Te substitution at Sb sites effectively tunes the majority carriers from holes to electrons, resulting in a transition from p to n-type. At 873 K, a peak ZT value of 0.27 is found for the specimen Mg3.8Sb1.99Te0.01, indicating an improved ZT value over the intrinsic value.
From measured thermal conductivity and modeling by simulation, this study suggests that U-factors are highly related to materials used between steel and polymer. The objective and prospective point of this study are to relate the relationship between the U-factor and the thermal conductivity of the materials used. For the characterization, EDX, SEM, a thermal conductive meter, and computer simulation utility are used to analyze the elemental, surface structural properties, and U-factor with a simulation of the used material between steel and polymer. This study set out to divide the curtain wall system that makes up the envelope into an aluminum frame section and entrance frame section and interpret their thermal performance with U-factors. Based on the U-factor thermal analysis results, the target curtain wall system is divided into fix and vent types. The glass is 24 mm double glazing (6 mm common glass +12 mm Argon +6 mm Low E). The same U-factor of 1.45 W/m2·K is applied. The interpretation results show that the U-factor and total U-value of the aluminum frame section are 1.449 and 2.343 W/m2·K, respectively. Meanwhile, those of the entrance frame section are 1.449 and 2.
Tungsten disulfide (WS2), a typical 2D layerd structure, has received much attention as a pseudocapacitive material because of its high theoretical specific capacity and excellent ion diffusion kinetics. However, WS2 has critical limits such as poor long-term cycling stability owing to its large volume expansion during cycling and low electrical conductivity. Therefore, to increase the high-rate performance and cycling stability for pseudocapacitors, well-dispersed WS2 nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanofibers (WS2-CNFs), including mesopores and S-doping, are prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and sulfurizaiton. These unique nanocomposite electrodes exhibit a high specific capacity (159.6 F g−1 at 10 mV s−1), excellent high-rate performance (81.3 F g−1 at 300 mV s−1), and long-term cycling stability (55.9% after 1,000 cycles at 100 mV s−1). The increased specific capacity is attributed to well-dispersed WS2 nanoparticles embedded in CNFs that the enlarge active area; the increased high-rate performance is contributed by reduced ion diffusion pathway due to mesoporous CNFs and improved electrical conductivity due to S-doped CNFs; the long-term cycling stability is attributed to the CNFs matrix including WS2 nanoparticles, which effectively prevent large volume expansion.
Deuterium is a crucial clean energy source required for nuclear fusion and is a future resource needed in various industries and scientific fields. However, it is not easy to enrich deuterium because the proportion of deuterium in the hydrogen mixture is scarce, at approximately 0.016%. Furthermore, the physical and chemical properties of the hydrogen mixture and deuterium are very similar. Therefore, the efficient separation of deuterium from hydrogen mixtures is often a significant challenge when using modern separation technologies. Recently, to effectively separate deuterium, studies utilizing the ‘Kinetic Quantum Sieving Effect (KQS)’ of porous materials are increasing. Therefore, in this review, two different strategies have been discussed for improving KQS efficiency for hydrogen isotope separation performance using nanoporous materials. One is the gating effect, which precisely controls the aperture locally by adjusting the temperature and pressure. The second is the breathing phenomenon, utilizing the volume change of the structure from closed system to open system. It has been reported that efficient hydrogen isotope separation is possible using these two methods, and each of these effects is described in detail in this review. In addition, a specific-isotope responsive system (e.g., 2nd breathing effect in MIL-53) has recently been discovered and is described here as well.
The electrochemical reaction between lead borate glass frit doped with Sn metal filler and Ni-Cr wire of a J-type resistor during a term of Joule heating is investigated. The fusing behavior in which the Ni-Cr wire is melted is not observed for the control group but measured for the Sn-doped specimen under 30 V and 500 mA. The Sn-doped lead borate glass frit shows a fusing property compared with other metal-doped specimens. Meanwhile, the redox reaction significantly contributes to the fusing behavior due to the release of free electrons of the metal toward the glass. The electrons derived from the glass, which used Joule heat to reach the melting point of Ni-Cr wire, increase with increasing corrosion rate at interface of metal/ glass. Finally, the confidence interval is 95 ± 1.959 %, and the adjusted regression coefficient, R in the optimal linear graph, is 0.93, reflecting 93% of the data and providing great potential for fusible resistor applications.