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Structural and chemical changes from CO2 exposure to self-healing polymer cement composites for geothermal wellbores
Wellbore cement is subjected to a number of mechanical, thermal and chemical stress regimes over its lifetime. Therefore, next generation wellbore cement formulations need to be evaluated in conditions relevant to these environments. In this work, we investigate the mechanism of the alteration of a novel self-healing polymer-cement composite recently reported by our group after exposure to a CO2-rich environment by using synchrotron based X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy. Results showed that chemical alteration of the polymer-cement follows the rim carbonation mechanism, similar to conventional cement although carbonation takes place to a lesser extent in polymer-cements despite the higher porosity. Along with detailed mechanistic insights on carbonation in polymer-cement composite, the performance of these in CO2-rich environment is further studied using standard compressive strength analysis.
LiMnPO4·Li3V2(PO4)3 composite cathode material derived from Mn(VO3)2 nanosheet precursor
The LiMnPO4·Li3V2(PO4)3/C composite cathode material was synthesized from Mn(VO3)2 nanosheet precursor, which was prepared by a hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology of the composite were systematically investigated by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), etc. The LiMnPO4·Li3V2(PO4)3/C composite material exhibits a low polarization and high specific capacity of 150.7 mAh g-1 at 0.1C in voltage range of 2.5–4.5V, and excellent cycle and rate performance for its stable nanocomposite framework. The composite material dominantly exists in the morphological shape of nanograins and nanorods, which increases the surface area and hence facilitate the electrolyte penetration. The nanoparticle components were even further identified in detail.
Magnetic self-assembly for the synthesis of magnetically exchange coupled MnBi/Fe–Co composites
Exchange coupled hard/soft MnBi/Fe–Co core/shell structured composites were synthesized using a magnetic self-assembly process. MnBi particles were prepared by arc-melting, and Fe–Co nanoparticles were synthesized by an oleic acid assisted chemical reduction method. Grinding a mixture of micron-sized MnBi and Fe–Co nanoparticles in hexane resulted in MnBi/Fe–Co core/shell structured composites. The MnBi/Fe–Co (95/5 wt%) composites showed smooth magnetic hysteresis loops, enhanced remanent magnetization, and positive values in the ΔM curve, indicating exchange coupling between MnBi and Fe–Co particles. - Graphical abstract: Both MnBi and Fe–Co particles were dispersed in hexane for grinding. Because of the oleic acid used during the Fe–Co nanoparticle synthesis, they could be well dispersed in hexane. During the grinding, the size of MnBi particles was decreased, hexane was evaporated, and the Fe–Co nanoparticles were concentrated in the solvent and magnetically attracted by MnBi particles, forming a core/shell structure. - Highlights: • Exchange coupled MnBi/Fe–Co composites are synthesized through magnetic selfassembly. • Magnetic exchange coupling is demonstrated by smooth magnetic hysteresis loops, enhanced remanent magnetization, and dominant positive peak in the ΔM curve. • The experimental results in magnetic properties are close to the theoretical calculation results.
Characterization and modeling of three-dimensional self-healing shape memory alloy-reinforced metal-matrix composites
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Atomic dynamics in molten AlCu alloys of different compositions and at different temperatures by cold neutron scattering
The atomic motions in molten Al1-xCux (x=0.10, 0.171 and 0.25) around the eutectic composition (x=0.171) were studied by cold neutron inelastic scattering at three different temperatures (973 K, 1173 K and 1373 K). An alloy of eutectic composition containing the 63Cu isotope was also studied. Self-diffusion coefficients for the Cu ions were determined from the width of quasielastic peaks and were found to decrease slightly with increasing Cu concentration. Longitudinal current correlation functions Jl(Q,E) exhibit at all temperatures and at all compositions a shoulder at energies below 10 meV and one main maximum at higher energies. These features can be interpreted in terms of excitations of acoustic and optic nature. The shape of Jl(Q,E) is sensitive to composition, being considerably more structured for larger Cu content. This can be coupled to the existence of a prepeak in the measured zeroth moment of dynamic scattering function indicating an increased chemical ordering with increasing Cu concentration for all temperatures. Indications for an existence of a liquid–liquid phase transition are presented.
Strong mineralogic control of soil organic matter composition in response to nutrient addition across diverse grassland sites
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Investigation of the stability of glass-ceramic composites containing CeTi2O6 and CaZrTi2O7 after ion implantation
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Direct Prelithiation of Silicon-Based Composite Electrodes via Island-like Thermal Evaporation
Irreversible losses of Li during solid electrolyte interface (SEI) conditioning is a key contributor to the lower specific capacities observed in silicon-containing Li-ion batteries. Herein, thermal evaporation of between 1 and 20 µm of Li onto Si-based composite anodes has been investigated as a prelithiation method to account for such losses. To account for mechanical strain caused by Li-Si alloying during the deposition, a stainless-steel mesh is applied to the electrodes before prelithiation to form “island-like” deposition on the electrode surface. The open circuit potential was also found to decrease as a function of increased Li evaporation, consistent with the potentials of electrochemically prepared LixSi alloys. Prelithiating to account for irreversible Li losses to SEI formation resulted in full cells with a 15.8% increase in initial coulombic efficiency and a 47.8% reduction in irreversible capacity loss after SEI formation cycling. Subsequent C/3 cycling showed up to a 62.9% increase in specific capacity in prelithiated cells. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed differences in the SEI composition that was formed by electrochemical cycling and reactively formed in prelithiated cells upon exposure to Gen2 + 3% FEC electrolyte. The reactively formed SEI from the spontaneous reaction with lithiated silicon was carbonate-rich while the electrochemical SEI formation showed significantly more LiPFx species, which could play a role in overall cycling performance.
Compositional Engineering for Efficient Wide Band Gap Perovskites with Improved Stability to Photoinduced Phase Segregation
Metal halide perovskites are attractive candidates for the wide band gap absorber in tandem solar cells. While their band gap can be tuned by partial halide substitution, mixed halide perovskites often have lower open-circuit voltage than would be expected and experience photoinduced trap formation caused by halide segregation. Here, we investigate solar cell performance and photostability across a compositional space of formamidinium (FA) and cesium (Cs) at the A-site at various halide compositions and show that using more Cs at the A-site rather than more Br at the X-site to raise band gap is more ideal as it improves both VOC and photostability. We develop band gap maps and design criteria for the selection of perovskite compositions within the Cs x FA 1–x Pb(Br y I 1–y ) 3 , space. With this, we identify perovskites with tandem-relevant band gaps of 1.68 and 1.75 eV that demonstrate high device efficiencies of 17.4 and 16.3%, respectively, and significantly improved photostability compared to that of the higher Br-containing compositions.
Accelerated Exploration of Empty Material Compositional Space: Mg–Fe–B Ternary Metal Borides
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Direct evidence for the role of microbial community composition in the formation of soil organic matter composition and persistence
The largest terrestrial carbon sink on earth is soil carbon stocks. As the climate changes, the rate at which the Earth’s climate warms depends in part on the persistence of soil organic carbon. Microbial turnover forms the backbone of soil organic matter (SOM) formation and it has been recently proposed that SOM molecular complexity is a key driver of stability. Despite this, the links between microbial diversity, chemical complexity and biogeochemical nature of SOM remain missing. Here we tested the hypotheses that distinct microbial communities shape the composition of SOM, and microbial-derived SOM has distinct decomposition potential depending on its community of origin. We inoculated microbial communities of varying diversities into a model soil matrix amended with simple carbon (cellobiose) and measured the thermal stability of the resultant SOM. Using a Rock-Eval ® ramped thermal analysis, we found that microbial community composition drives the chemical fingerprint of soil carbon. While diversity was not a driver of SOM composition, bacteria-only communities lead to more thermally labile soil C pools than communities with bacteria and fungi. Our results provide direct evidence for a link between microbial community structure, SOM composition, and thermal stability. This evidence demonstrates the relevance of soil microorganisms in building persistent SOM stocks.
High photo-electrochemical activity of thylakoid–carbon nanotube composites for photosynthetic energy conversion
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Molecular Structures of Polymer/Sulfur Composites for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries with Long Cycle Life
Vulcanizedpolyaniline/sulfur (SPANI/S) nanostructures were investigated for Li-S battery applications, but the detailed molecular structures of such composites have not been fully illustrated. In this paper, we synthesize SPANI/S composites with different S content in a nanorod configuration. FTIR, Raman, XPS, XRD, SEM and elemental analysis methods are used to characterize the molecular structure of the materials. We provide clear evidence that a portion of S was grafted on PANI during heating and connected the PANI chains with disulfide bonds to form a crosslinked network and the rest of S was encapsulated within it.. Polysulfides and elementary sulfur nanoparticles are physically trapped inside the polymer network and are not chemically bound to the polymer. The performance of the composites is further improved by reducing the particle size. Even after 500 cycles a capacity retention rate of 68.8% is observed in the SPANI/S composite with 55% S content.
Etching and polymerization reactions of alkoxythiophenes in HKUST-1: choosing between filled and core–shell MOF/polymer composite structures
Neat alkoxythiophenes react with MOF HKUST-1 to form a core–shell composite where the HKUST-1 surface is coated with conjugated polymer, while hexane solutions of thiophenes form a filled composite with polythiophene inside MOF pores.
An interface facet driven Rayleigh instability in high-aspect-ratio bimetallic nanolayered composites
One limitation hindering the structural and electrical applications of nanostructured metals is the loss of their nanostructure and strength under elevated temperatures. Nanostructured metals often have grain structures that contain a high density of triple junctions, where thermally induced instabilities commonly initiate. Prior work has resulted in fabrication of nanolayered two-phase composites that possess high-aspect ratio grains, a scarcity of triple junctions, and a thermally stable microstructure. In this work, transmission electron microscopy is used to investigate how these composites could eventually breakdown during heating. We reveal an unconventional thermal instability mechanism in this class of materials, which operates without the assistance of triple junctions. The mechanism can be rationalized by that thermally induced pinch off occurs as the result of bimetal interface faceting and can trigger a classic Rayleigh instability.
Combined fit of spectrum and composition data as measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory
In this paper, we present a combined fit of a simple astrophysical model of UHECR sources to both the energy spectrum and mass composition data measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory. The fit has been performed for energies above 5 • 10 18 eV, i.e. the region of the all-particle spectrum above the so-called 'ankle' feature. The astrophysical model we adopted consists of identical sources uniformly distributed in a comoving volume, where nuclei are accelerated through a rigidity-dependent mechanism. The fit results suggest sources characterized by relatively low maximum injection energies, hard spectra and heavy chemical composition. We also show that uncertainties about physical quantities relevant to UHECR propagation and shower development have a non-negligible impact on the fit results.