New Silica Coating Pigment for Inkjet Papers from Mining Industry Sidestreams

Silica is commonly used as an ingredient in the coatings of inkjet papers because of its capability to provide a coating layer structure combining a high pore volume, into which all the applied inkjet ink can transfer, and a suitable pore size distribution for very quick ink absorption. Nowadays, the production of silica pigment is quite expensive, and therefore, it would be advantageous to find a cheaper raw material source. In this study, the raw material was Greek olivine from magnesite mine sidestreams. The silica pigment was produced at laboratory scale by using nitric acid as a solvent. The target of this work was to clarify how this produced silica pigment is suited for inkjet coating pigments. The coating colors were applied by a laboratory rod coater on fine base paper and white-top kraftliner, and the coated surfaces were printed with a home and office area inkjet printer. The results showed that the produced olivine-based silica pigment has a potential in matt inkjet coatings. The coating of the produced silica pigment increased the print density, decreased the print-through, and diminished the bleeding of fine paper and white-top kraftliner board. However, further development work is needed to improve the pigment brightness to a more acceptable level, and to control the particle size at the nitric acid dissolution.

Bionic Thermosensation Inspired Temperature Gradient Sensor Based on Covalent Organic Framework Nanofluidic Membrane with Ultrahigh Sensitivity

The ability to precisely monitor temperature at a high resolution is an important task,particularly in terms of safety.Inspired by natural thermosensitive transient receptor potential cation channels,we developed a temperature sensor based on thermaldriven ionic charge separation.To mimic the function of nature,an ionic covalent organic frameworkbased nanofluidic membrane was fabricated.By engineering the membrane to separate two electrolyte solutions,the temperature difference across the membrane can synchronously induce a potential.The high charge density and narrow channel size render extraordinary permselectivity to the membrane,thus offering a thermosensation selectivity of up to 1.25 mV K^(−1),superior to that of any known natural system.Additionally,the generated potential is linearly related to the introduced temperature gradient,thus allowing for precise detection.With these attributes,an alarm device with high thermosensation sensitivity was constructed,demonstrating great promise for environmental temperature monitoring.

Iontronic components: From liquid- to solid-states

In modern electronics,the ionic charges have not occupied the same role as the electrons mainly because of their relatively low mobilities.However,these“slow”charge carriers contribute to brain computing with high efficiency and extremely low power consumption.Inspired by the“ionic”life,iontronic components have recently attracted considerable attention.In this review,we first introduce the progress of iontronic devices operating with the involvement of water,specifically,two types of systems—nanofluidic and hydrogels.Next,the issues and challenges within these liquid-state ionic devices are summarized.To avoid the negative impact of water,we also propose two solid-state materials—ionogels and charged metal nanoparticles—to construct several basic ionic devices such as diodes and transistors.Finally,we summarize this review and outlook the promising directions for the further developments of iontronic devices.

Characteristics and applications of interplanetary coronal mass ejection composition

In situ measurements of interplanetary coronal mass ejection(ICME)composition,including elemental abundances and charge states of heavy ions,open a new avenue to study coronal mass ejections(CMEs)besides remote-sensing observations.The ratios between different elemental abundances can diagnose the plasma origin of CMEs(e.g.,from the corona or chromosphere/photosphere)due to the first ionization potential(FIP)effect,which means elements with different FIPs get fractionated between the photosphere and corona.The ratios between different charge states of a specific element can provide the electron temperature of CMEs in the corona due to the freeze-in effect,which can be used to investigate their eruption process.In this review,we first give an overview of the ICME composition and then demonstrate their applications in investigating some important subjects related to CMEs,such as the origin of filament plasma and the eruption process of magnetic flux ropes.Finally,we point out several important questions that should be addressed further for better utilizing the ICME composition to study CMEs.