The mixed-ion electron conductor, Ag₂Se, has shown strong potential as a thermoelectric material operating near room temperature. In this study, we demonstrate that the incorporation of polyaniline (PANI) into Ag₂Se forms Ag₂Se/PANI nanocomposites with significantly enhanced thermoelectric performances. Ag₂Se was synthesized using a hydrothermal method followed by hot pressing to obtain dense composite pellets. The novelty of this work lies in the systematic tuning of the PANI content and its dual role in enhancing electrical transport while suppressing lattice thermal conductivity. Microstructural analysis reveals that PANI-induced defects, such as dislocations and point defects, effectively scatter phonons at multiple scales, resulting in a remarkably low lattice thermal conductivity (κₗ ≈ 0.08 Wm⁻1 K⁻1) at 393 K. Simultaneously, PANI improves carrier mobility by modifying the Coulomb potential at grain boundaries, reducing interfacial energy barriers. These effects lead to an improved power factor of 2028 μWm⁻1 K⁻2 and a peak figure of merit (zT ≈ 0.67) at 393 K for the 0.5 wt% PANI sample. This study introduces a novel polymer-assisted interface engineering approach to improve the thermoelectric performance of Ag₂Se-based materials.

CO2 photocatalytic reduction is a carbon–neutral renewable energy technology. However, this technology is restricted by the low utilization of photocatalytic electrons. Therefore, to improve the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers and enhance the performance of CO2 photocatalytic reduction. In this paper, g-C3N4/Pd composite with Schottky junction was synthesized by using g-C3N4, a two-dimensional material with unique interfacial effect, as the substrate material in combination with the co-catalyst Pd. The composite of Pd and g-C3N4 was tested to have a strong localized surface plasmon resonance effect (LSPR), which decreased the reaction barriers and improved the electron utilization. The combination of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) created a π–π conjugation effect at the g-C3N4 interface, which shortened the electron migration path and further improved the thermal electron transfer and utilization efficiency. The results show that the g-C3N4/ rGO/Pd (CRP) exhibits the best performance for photocatalytic reduction of CO2, with the yields of 13.57 μmol g− 1 and 2.73 μmol g− 1 for CO and CH4, respectively. Using the in situ infrared test to elucidate the intermediates and the mechanism of g-C3N4/rGO/Pd (CRP) photocatalytic CO2 reduction. This paper provides a new insight into the interface design of photocatalytic materials and the application of co-catalysts.

In this research, carbon nanotubes(CNT) and graphene nanoplates(GnP) are deposited on the surface of carbon fibers(CF) at once. Investigating the effect between CNT and GnP on increasing the interfacial and mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites(CFRP). The cross section of the CFRP composites indicates that the GnPs/CNTs hybrid coating exhibits significantly higher mechanical performance in all coating samples. The interlayer shear strength of the GnPs/CNT hybrid coated CFRP composite was 90% higher than that of the uncoated CF composite. The flexural and tensile strength of CFRP composites using GnPs /CNT hybrid coatings were improved by 52% and 70%, respectively, compared to uncoated CF.

This study was discussed with the friction effects due to surface roughness of the interface between the base material and a reinforcement at the downward inclined interfacial crack under shear loading. The fracture parameter are analyzed by finite element method of the ANSYS. As the friction coefficient of the surface is assumed zero and 0.3, the fracture is analyzed. This study was analyzed with inclination angles about 0 degrees, 45 degrees and 90 degrees. As the results, at the inclination angle of 0, the energy release rate is reduced by about 3%. About 16%, and 2% are decreased at 45 degree and 90 degree respectively. If the inclination angle is 45 degrees, the friction effect by the sliding resistance between the interface was found to be most effective.

In this study, the effect of downward inclined interface about interfacial crack of bimaterials are discussed. The fracture parameter are analyzed by finite element method of the ANSYS. The energy release rates, displacement jump and stress distribution were analyzed as the gradient variation of inclined interfaces. As a results, in case of positive shear displacement was applied, the energy release rates not varied with gradient of inclined interface increasing. However in case of negative shear displacement was applied, the energy release rates decreased with gradient of inclined interface increasing. Due to the inclined interface contact, the shielding effect relatively increased as the gradient of inclined interface was increased.

The purpose of this study is to conduct basic research on development of game interface for the elderly by verifying the difference in user experience based on the type of interface. The methodology of playtest combining experimental research and survey was applied with subjects of elderly users consisting of 47 men and 48 women being ages 60 and up. The effects of user experience between natural user interface and the pad-type interface were compared and analyzed through repeated measure MANOVA in terms of emotional response, ease of use and flow. The NUI game showed higher emotional responses such as pleasure and dominance. On the other hand, there was no difference in arousal. The NUI game also presented higher ease of use in the process of game play and it also had higher autotelic experience, action-awareness merging, sense of control and ambiguous feedback experience. These results may contribute to the development of serious game and natural user interface for the elderly by empirically identifying the effects of user experience on NUI.

In this study, the effect of interface friction coefficient about interfacial crack of bimaterials are discussed. The fracture parameters are analyzed by finite element method using ANSYS. With increasing the interface friction coefficient, normal crack opening displacements and normal stress distributions are analyzed. In this case with surface contact in interface crack, the energy release rates decreases with interface friction coefficient increasing. Increase in the friction coefficient of the crack surface are tend to suppressing for the initiation of interfacial crack. In this case with surface non-contact, the energy release rates are constant with interface friction coefficient increasing, and so the friction coefficient are not related with the fracture parameter.

Silicon heterojunction solar cells have been studied by many research groups. In this work, silicon heterojunction solar cells having a simple structure of Ag/ZnO:Al/n type a-Si:H/p type c-Si/Al were fabricated. Samples were fabricated to investigate the effect of transparent conductive oxide growth conditions on the interface between ZnO:Al layer and a-Si:H layer. One sample was deposited by ZnO:Al at low working pressure. The other sample was deposited by ZnO:Al at alternating high working pressure and low working pressure. Electrical properties and chemical properties were investigated by light I-V characteristics and AES method, respectively. The light I-V characteristics showed better efficiency on sample deposited by ZnO:Al by alternating high working pressure and low working pressure. Atomic concentrations and relative oxidation states of Si, O, and Zn were analyzed by AES method. For poor efficiency samples, Si was diffused into ZnO:Al layer and O was diffused at the interface of ZnO:Al and Si. Differentiated O KLL spectra, Zn LMM spectra, and Si KLL spectra were used for interface reaction and oxidation state. According to AES spectra, sample deposited by high working pressure was effective at reducing the interface reaction and the Si diffusion. Consequently, the efficiency was improved by suppressing the SiOx formation at the interface.

Both densification and grain growth are driven by the reduction of the interfacial area, kinetics of which depends strongly on the interface structure. Abnormal grain coarsening in the system of singular solid/liquid interface such as WC-Co alloys was explained by the growth mechanism of 2-dimensional nucleation. Based on this concept, the marked inhibition of coarsening of WC grains by VC addition can be approached by the increase in the step free energy, which increases the barrier of 2-dimensional nucleation. The activated sintering in tungsten powders can be approached by the interface structure change induced by the addition of a small amount of nickel.

Friction welding of particulate reinforced aluminum composites was performed and the following conclusions were drawn from the study of interfacial bonding characteristics and the relationship between experimental parameters of friction welding and interfacial bond strength. Highest bonded joint efficiency (HBJE) approaching was obtained from the post-brake timing, indicating that the bonding strength of the joint is close to that of the base material. For the pre-brake timing, HBJE was . Most region of the bonded interface obtained from post-brake timing exhibited similar microstructure with the matrix or with very thin, fine-grained layer. This was attributed to the fact that the fine-grained layer forming at the bonding interface was drawn out circumferentially in this process. Joint efficiency of post-brake timing was always higher than that of pre-brake timing regardless of rotation speed employed. In order to guarantee the performance of friction welded joint similar to the efficiency of matrix, it is necessary to push out the fine-grained layer forming at the bonding interface circumferentially. As a result, microstructure of the bonded joint similar to that of the matrix with very thin, fine-grained layer can be obtained.

Joining of AIN ceramics to W and Cu by active-metal brazing method was tried with use of (Ag-Cu)-Ti alloy as insert-metal. Joints were produced under various conditions of temperature, holding time and Ti-content in (Ag-Cu) alloy Reaction and microstructural development in bonded interface were investigated through observation and analysis by SEM/EDS, EPMA and XRD. Joint strengths were measured by shear test. Bonded interface consists of two layers: an insert-metal layer of eutectic Ag- and Cu-rich phases and a reaction layer of TiN. Thickness of reaction layer increases with bonding temperature, holding time and Ti-content of insert-metal. It was confirmed that the growth of reaction layer is a diffusion-controlled process. Activation energy for this process was 260 KJ/mol which is lower than that for N diffusion in TiN. Maximum shear strength of 108 MPa and 72 MPa were obtained for AIN/W and AIN/Cu joints, respectively. Relationship between processing variables, joint strength and thickness of reaction layer was also explained.