Remove of Phenolic Compounds in Water by Low-Temperature Plasma: A Review of Current Research

Phenolic compounds have very strong toxicity, so it has been paid sharply attention to find an effective way of controlling the wastewater containing phenolic compounds. The work on this subject done by domestic and overseas scholars is studied in this paper, and the progress of researches on low-temperature plasma treatment is summarized through the electrical discharge types, mechanism, kinetics of phenolic compounds decomposition and combination of several methods with low-temperature plasma treatment. In addition, the crucial problem and the developing tendency on low-temperature plasma treatment for phenol-bearing wastewater are briefly discussed.

Research progress and development direction of low-temperature drilling fluid for Antarctic region

By combing the characteristics of drilling in Antarctic region, performance requirements on drilling fluid for Antarctic low temperature conditions, and research progress of low temperature drilling fluid, current problems of the drilling fluid have been sorted out, and the development direction of the drilling fluid has been pointed out. Drilling in the Antarctic region mainly includes drilling in snow, ice and subglacial rock formations, and drilling in Antarctic low temperature conditions will face problems in four aspects:(1) low temperature and large temperature changes in the drilling area;(2) likely well leakage and drillstring-sticking in the snow layer, creep in the ice layer, ice chip gathering jamming in the warm ice layer, well wall collapse in the subglacial rock formations;(3) lack of infrastructure and difficulty in logistical support;(4) fragile environment and low carrying capacity. After years of development, progresses have been made on low-temperature drilling fluids for the Antarctic region. Low-temperature petroleum-based drilling fluid, ethanol/ethylene glycol-based drilling fluid, ester-based drilling fluid and silicone oil-based drilling fluid have been developed. However, these drilling fluids have problems such as insufficient low-temperature tolerance, low environmental performance and weak wellbore stability, etc. In order to meet the performance requirements of drilling fluid under low-temperature conditions in Antarctic region, the working mechanisms of low-temperature drilling fluid must be examined in depth;environment-friendly low-temperature base fluid of drilling fluid and related additives must be developed to prepare environmentally friendly low temperature drilling fluid systems;multi-functional integrated adjustment method for drilling fluid must be worked out to ensure well wall stability and improve cutting-carry capacity when drilling ice formations and ice-rock interlayers;and on-site support operation codes must be established to provide technical support for Antarctic drilling.

Low-temperature synthesis of ultrasmall spinel MnxCo3-xO4 nanoparticles for efficient oxygen reduction

Spinel-type manganese-cobalt oxides have been regarded as important class of electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR).However,they are usually synthesized through oxidation-precipitation under aqueous ammonia and then crystallization at high temperature(150–180℃),which not only increases the energy consumption but also induces the growth of particles that is unfavorable for ORR.Herein,through a facile precipitation-dehydration method,ultrasmall spinel manganese-cobalt oxide nanoparticles(~5 nm)homogeneously dispersed on conductive carbon black(MnxCo3-xO4/C)were fabricated at low temperature(60℃).And the bimetallic composite oxide(Mn1.5Co1.5O4/C)with cubic spinel structure and high Mn content exhibits remarkable enhancement of ORR activity and stability compared with single metal oxide(both Mn3O4/C and Co3O4/C).The essential reason for the enhancement of activity can be attributed to the presence of the mixed Mn^3+ and Mn^4+ cations in Mn1.5Co1.5O4/C.Moreover,the ORR activity of Mn1.5Co1.5O4/C is comparable to that of commercial 20 wt% Pt/C,and the relative current density only decreases 1.4% after 12 h test,exceeding that of Pt/C and most reported manganese-cobalt oxide electrocatalysts.

Low-temperature Denitration Mechanism of NH_(3)-SCR over Fe/AC Catalyst

To study the modification mechanism of activated carbon(AC)by Fe and the low-temperature NH_(3)-selective catalytic reduction(SCR)denitration mechanism of Fe/AC catalysts,Fe/AC catalysts were prepared using coconut shell AC activated by nitric acid as the support and iron oxide as the active component.The crystal structure,surface morphology,pore structure,functional groups and valence states of the active components of Fe/AC catalysts were characterised by X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy,nitrogen adsorption and desorption,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,respectively.The effect of Fe loading and calcination temperature on the low-temperature denitration of NH_(3)-SCR over Fe/AC catalysts was studied using NH_(3)as the reducing gas at low temperature(150℃).The results show that the iron oxide on the Fe/AC catalyst is spherical and uniformly dispersed on the surface of AC,thereby improving the crystallisation performance and increasing the number of active sites and specific surface area on AC in contact with the reaction gas.Hence,a rapid NH_(3)-SCR reaction was realised.When the roasting temperature remains constant,the iron oxide crystals formed by increasing the amount of loading can enter the AC pore structure and accumulate to form more micropores.When the roasting temperature is raised from 400 to 500℃,the iron oxide is mainly transformed fromα-Fe_(2)O_(3)toγ-Fe_(2)O_(3),which improves the iron oxide dispersion and increases its denitration active site,allowing gas adsorption.When the Fe loading amount is 10%,and the roasting temperature is 500℃,the NO removal rate of the Fe/AC catalyst can reach 95%.According to the study,the low-temperature NH_(3)-SCR mechanism of Fe/AC catalyst is proposed,in which the redox reaction between Fe~(2+)and Fe~(3+)will facilitate the formation of reactive oxygen vacancies,which increases the amount of oxygen adsorption on the surface,especially the increase in surface acid sites,and promotes and adsorbs more reaction gases(NH_(3),O_(2),NO).The transformation from the standard SCR reaction to the fast SCR reaction is accelerated.

Study on Free Surface and Channel Flow Induced by Low Temperature Plasma via Lattice Boltzmann Method

Active boundary layer flow control and boundary layer manipulation in the channel flow that was based on low temperature plasma were studied by means of a lattice Boltzmann method. Two plasma actuators were placed in a row to obtain the influence rule of their separation distance on the velocity profile at three locations and maximum velocity in the flow field. Two plasma actuators were placed symmetrically inside a channel to examine the effect of channel height and voltage on the velocity profile and flow rate. It was found that the channel height controls the distribution of flow velocity, which affected the flow rate and its direction. Increasing plasma voltage had a negative effect on the flow rate due to the generation of a larger and stronger flow vortex.

Methods for enhancing the capacity of electrode materials in low-temperature lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)have evolved into the mainstream power source of ene rgy sto rage equipment by reason of their advantages such as high energy density,high power,long cycle life and less pollution.With the expansion of their applications in deep-sea exploration,aerospace and military equipment,special working conditions have placed higher demands on the low-temperature performance of LIBs.However,at low temperatures,the severe polarization and inferior electrochemical activity of electrode materials cause the acute capacity fading upon cycling,which greatly hindered the further development of LIBs.In this review,we summarize the recent important progress of LIBs in low-temperature operations and introduce the key methods and the related action mechanisms for enhancing the capacity of the various cathode and anode materials.It aims to promote the development of high-performance electrode materials and broaden the application range of LIBs.

Properties and microstructure of oxide dispersion strengthened tungsten alloy prepared by liquid-phase method:a review

The addition of the second phase into tungsten can significantly refine the grain size of tungsten alloys,and also play a role in dispersion strengthening,thus improving the properties of tungsten alloy.As a preparation method of tungsten alloy powder,liquid-phase method avoids the disadvantage of mechanical alloying,and the obtained powder composition is accurate and controllable,with high purity and excellent uniformity.At present,the second phase particles used for dispersion strengthening tungsten alloys are mainly composed of oxides.Oxide particles can be synthesized and precipitated in nitrate solution through in situ chemical reaction,and are uniformly distributed in composite powder by mixing and stirring.Finally,the oxide dispersion strengthened tungsten alloy(ODS-W)was obtained by reduction and sintering.Liquid-phase methods for preparing ODS-W alloys include azeotropic distillation,sol-gel methods,freeze-drying,hydrothermal synthesis,spray-drying,etc.In this paper,several liquid-phase methods for preparing tungsten alloy composite powder precursors are reviewed,and their latest research progresses are discussed.In addition,the morphologies and properties of tungsten alloys prepared by different methods are compared,which provides guidance for preparing high-performance tungsten alloys.

Effect of Magnetic Field on Synthesis of Nano-FeOOH by Low-Temperature Neutralization Method

Using XRD,TEM and VSM methods,the phase,morphology and magnetic property of iron hydroxide oxide(FeOOH) which has been prepared by low-temperature neutralization reaction under different magnetic fields were analyzed.It can be found that the magnetic field had a great influence on the product.Acicular goethite(α-FeOOH) was synthetized without magnetic field.When the magnetic flux density was increased to 0.1T,γ-FeOOH was obtained.If the magnetic field intensity was raised to 0.5T,the product was all composed of δ-FeOOH.Moreover,the crystallization of FeOOH was greatly influenced by magnetic field as well.Thermodynamic calculation results show that the magnetic free energy of chemical reaction reached to more than hundreds KJ/mol when the magnetic field is applied.It meaned that the application of magnetic field was conducived to producing the products with higher susceptibility.Even under the low magnetic field,due to the stability of the reaction products was broken by the magnetic field,the magnetic free energy was also effective.

Preparation of Nano-MnFe2O4 and Its Catalytic Performance of Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate

Nano-MnFe2O4 particles were synthesized by co-precipitation phase inversion method and low-temperature combustion method respectively, using MnCl2, FeCl3, Mn（NO3）2, Fe（NO3）3, NaOH and C6H8O7. X-ray diffraction （XRD）, transmission electron microscope （TEM）, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FT-IR）, thermogravim-etry-differential thermal analysis （TG-DTA） and differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） were used to characterize the structure, morphology, thermal stability of MnFe2O4 and its catalytic performance to ammonium perchlorate. Results showed that single-phased and uniform spinel MnFe2O4 was obtained. The average particle size was about 30 and 20 nm. The infrared absorption peaks appeared at about 420 and 574 cm-1, and the particles were stable below 524 ℃. Using the two prepared catalysts, the higher thermal decomposition temperature of ammonium perchlorate was decreased by 77.3 and 84.9 ℃ respectively, while the apparent decomposition heat was increased by 482.5 and 574.3 J？g？1. The catalytic mechanism could be explained by the favorable electron transfer space provided by outer d orbit of transition metal ions and the high specific surface absorption effect of MnFe2O4 particles.

Sintering of monoclinic SrAl_(2)Si_(2)O_(8) ceramics and their Sr immobilization

Monoclinic SrAl_(2)Si_(2)O_(8) ceramics for Sr immobilization were prepared by a liquid-phase sintering method.The sintering temperature,mineral phase composition,microstructure,flexural strength,bulk density,and Sr ion leaching characteristics of the SrAl_(2)Si_(2)O_(8) ceramics were investigated.A crystalline monoclinic SrAl_(2)Si_(2)O_(8) phase formed through liquid-phase sintering at 1223 K.The introduction of four flux agents(B_(2)O_(3),CaO·2B_(2)O_(3),SrO·2B_(2)O_(3),and BaO·2B_(2)O_(3))to the SrAl_(2)Si_(2)O_(8) ceramics not only reduced the densification temperature and decreased the volatilization of Sr during high-temperature sintering but also impacted the mechanical properties of the ceramics.Product consistency tests showed that the leaching concentration of Sr ions in the sample with flux agent B_(2)O_(3) was the lowest,whereas that of Sr ions in the sample with flux agent BaO·2B_(2)O_(3) was the highest.These results show that the leaching concentration of Sr ions depends largely on the amorphous phase in the ceramics.Meanwhile,the formation of mineral analog ceramics containing Sr is an important factor to improve Sr immobilization.

Effect of low-temperature treatment on bacterial cultivation in bacterial induced mineralization

In this paper,the effect of low-temperature treatment on bacterial activity was investigated and its performance in preparing the consolidated sand was accessed.Four factors,including absorbance(OD600),p H,electric conductivity(EC)and urease activity(UA)were monitored to evaluate the bacterial activity.Moreover,the calcium carbonate yields under different bacterial solution and cementation solution volume ratios were determined.Finally,the compressive strength and microstructure of consolidated sand were investigated and the mechanism was explored by characterising the products among sand particles.The results showed that for both continuous and interval cultivation of bacteria,stable bacterial solution was harvested within the cultivation period of 30 h.Low-temperature treatment showed limited inhibition at early cultivation stage,while it had strong inhibition at middle cultivation stage.The interval cultivation improved the cultivation efficiency of bacteria.It was observed that the low-temperature preservation for a stable bacterial solution has little influence on UA before 4 days,while UA decreased seriously after its preservation time was extended to over 8 days.The optimal volume ratio of bacterial solution and substrate solution was 1:1,resulting in the highest calcium carbonate yield.The improved compressive strength of consolidated sand after 3 injections was attributed to the irregular-shaped calcite products,which coated and bonded the sand grains together.

Preheating method of lithium-ion batteries in an electric vehicle

To improve the low-temperature charge-discharge performance of lithium-ion battery,low-temperature experiments of the charge-discharge characteristics of 35 Ah high-power lithium-ion batteries have been conducted,and the wide-line metal film method for heating batteries is presented.At-40℃,heating and charge-discharge experiments have been performed on the battery pack.The results indicate the charge-discharge performance is substantially worse in cold climates,and can be significantly improved by heating the battery pack with a wide-line metal film.Pulse charge-discharge experiments show that at-40℃ambient temperature,the heated battery pack can charge or discharge at high current and offer almost80%power.

Methods for cleaning turbid nematode suspensions collected from different land-use types and soil types

Soil nematodes are useful ecological indicators and can be extracted from soil by a variety of techniques.Because the extracted nematode samples(suspensions)can be quite turbid(i.e.,they contain soil particles and organic particles in addition to nematodes),quantitative and taxonomic analyses of the nematodes by microscopy can be difficult.In this study,the following three methods for cleaning turbid suspensions obtained from Baermann funnels were assessed:repeated centrifugation at 692.5´g for 1 min,repeated settling at low-temperature(4°C)for 24 h,and a combination of low-temperature settling and centrifugation.Nematodes were extracted with Baermann funnels from soil samples collected from four land-use types(since land-use type can affect the turbidity of nematode suspensions),and the resulting suspensions were cleaned by the three methods before nematode abundance was assessed.As a control,samples(i.e.,suspensions)were simply diluted with water,and nematodes were counted in the entire volume.The results showed that,within each land-use type,nematode abundance did not significantly differ between the control and the three cleaning methods.Averaged across all land-use types,however,the nematode recovery rate was slightly higher with repeated centrifugation than with the other two cleaning methods.Therefore,the proposed methods are sound for cleaning turbid nematode suspensions,and repeated centrifugation is the most efficient method.

Mn-CeOx/Ti-PILCs for selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH_3 at low temperature

Titanium-pillared clays （Ti-PILCs） were obtained by different ways from TiCl4, Ti（OC3H7）4 and TiOSO4, respectively. Mn-CeOx/Ti- PILCs were then prepared and their activities of selective catalytic reduction （SCR） of NO with NH3 at low-temperature were evaluated. Mn-CeOx/Ti-PILCs were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis, temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia and H2-temperature-programmed reduction. It was found that Ti-pillar tend to be helpful for the enlargement of surface area, pore volume, acidity and the enhancement of thermal stability for Mn-CeOx/Ti-PILCs. Mn- CeOx/Ti-PILCs catalysts were active for the SCR of NO. Among three resultant Mn-CeOx/Ti-PILCs, the catalyst from TiOSO4 showed the highest activity with 98% NO conversion at 220°C, it also exhibited good resistance to H2O and SO2 in flue gas. The catalyst from TiCl4 exhibited the lowest activity due to the unsuccessful pillaring process.

Single Molecule Imaging with Liquid Phase Electron Microscopy

Few single-molecule experiments have enabled the direct imaging of functional biomacromolecules in real-time in their native liquid environments,resolving their conformational adaptations,transient interactions,and intermediate states.Liquid phase electron microscopy(LP-EM),due to its unique combination of spatial and temporal resolution,has shown to be a promising tool.Recent experiments have enabled successful imaging of intact structures of organic molecules and biological systems with an ordinary electron microscope.Adapting image processing methods and quantitative data analysis from single particle experiments based on the optical microscope,quantifying motion and relaxation of these interacting molecules allows the experimental observations of pathways,to test theoretical predictions,and discovery of new mechanisms.Combining LP-EM with tomography,fluorescence,and mass spectroscopy allows for probing multi-dimensional structural and dynamic information.Challenges remain in obtaining high-quality data in large quantities,which can be improved by developing new liquid cell platforms and machine learning-based data analysis.

Controlled synthesis of GeSe_(2) and GeSe nanostructures induced by TBAB

Ge-based selenides have attracted extensive attention as promising candidates for future optoelectronic applications.Despite great progress has been achieved,the controlled synthesis of GeSe2and GeSe nanostructures and understanding the relative growth mechanisms of them are still lacking.Herein,monodispersed GeSe_(2) nanoflowers with a diameter of~4μm and highly uniform GeSe nanoparticles with a lateral size of~100 nm are presented by using a colloidal synthetic method.It is found that borane tert-butylamine complex(TBAB)plays an important role in determining the Ge-Se crystal phases due to its moderately reducibility.Furthermore,the coexistence of GeSe_(2) and GeSe phases can also be acquired by precisely controlling the amount of TBAB.In brief,this work provides both new insights of the phase control of Gebased selenides by liquid-phase method and a practical means of producing well-controlled germanium selenide nanostructures.

Acoustic emission characterization of sliding wear under condition of direct and inverse transformations in lowtemperature degradation aged Y-TZP and Y-TZP-Al_2O_3

In this research, results of the investigation of the sliding friction and wear of yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline(Y-TZP) and Y-TZP-Al_2O_3 samples preliminarily subjected to low-temperature degradation are reported. The investigation was carried out using a pin-on-disk tribometer with simultaneous recording of acoustic emission(AE) and vibration acceleration. The sliding wear process was found to be determined by dynamic direct and inverse Y-TZP transformations detected by monoclinic and tetragonal X-ray diffraction peak ratios. The AE signals generated under direct and inverse transformations can be used to characterize wear and friction mechanisms as well as direct and inversed sliding-induced phase transformations. The AE signal energy grows with the friction coefficient and the inverse transformation degree. Reduction of the AE signal energy indicates establishing the mild wear stage caused by effective stress-induced direct martensitic transformation. The AE signal median frequency increases in the case of lower friction. Numerical studies of wear subsurface fracture under conditions of stress-induced martensitic transformation were used to elucidate the role played by the phase transformation in Y-TZP and Y-TZP-Al_2O_3. Martensitic transformation in Y-TZP was described with use of the non-associated dilatant plasticity model. Simulation results particularly show that increase in the value of dilatancy coefficient from 0 to 0.2 is accompanied by 25%-30% reduce in characteristic length and penetration depth of sliding-induced subsurface cracks. As shown the AE may be an effective tool for in-situ monitoring the subsurface wear of materials experiencing both direct and inverse transformations.