Thermal rectification induced by Wenzel–Cassie wetting state transition on nano-structured solid–liquid interfaces

Thermal rectification refers to the phenomenon by which the magnitude of the heat flux in one direction is much larger than that in the opposite direction.In this study,we propose to implement the thermal rectification phenomenon in an asymmetric solid–liquid–solid sandwiched system with a nano-structured interface.By using the non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations,the thermal transport through the solid–liquid–solid system is examined,and the thermal rectification phenomenon can be observed.It is revealed that the thermal rectification effect can be attributed to the significant difference in the interfacial thermal resistance between Cassie and Wenzel states when reversing the temperature bias.In addition,effects of the liquid density,solid–liquid bonding strength and nanostructure size on the thermal rectification are examined.The findings may provide a new way for designs of certain thermal devices.

Understanding fundamentals of electrochemical reactions with tender X-rays:A new lab-based operando X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy method for probing liquid/solid and gas/solid interfaces across a variety of electrochemical systems

Electrocatalysis is key to improving energy efficiency,reducing carbon emissions,and providing a sustainable way of meeting global energy needs.Therefore,elucidating electrochemical reaction mechanisms at the electrolyte/electrode interfaces is essential for developing advanced renewable energy technologies.However,the direct probing of real-time interfacial changes,i.e.,the surface intermediates,chemical environment,and electronic structure,under operating conditions is challenging and necessitates the use of in situ methods.Herein,we present a new lab-based instrument commissioned to perform in situ chemical analysis at liquid/solid interfaces using ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(APXPS).This setup takes advantage of a chromium source of tender X-rays and is designed to study liquid/solid interfaces by the“dip and pull”method.Each of the main components was carefully described,and the results of performance tests are presented.Using a three-electrode setup,the system can probe the intermediate species and potential shifts across the liquid electrolyte/solid electrode interface.In addition,we demonstrate how this system allows the study of interfacial changes at gas/solid interfaces using a case study:a sodium–oxygen model battery.However,the use of APXPS in electrochemical studies is still in the early stages,so we summarize the current challenges and some developmental frontiers.Despite the challenges,we expect that joint efforts to improve instruments and the electrochemical setup will enable us to obtain a better understanding of the composition–reactivity relationship at electrochemical interfaces under realistic reaction conditions.

Fractal Description of the Solid/Liquid Interface of a Directionally Solidified Superalloy with Different Phosphorus Content

The solid/liquid interface of a directionally solidified Ni-base superalloy with different phosphorus contents was quantitatively described by means of fractat method.When the solidification rate was fixed,the relationship between the fractal dimensionality of the solid/liquid interface and the phos- phorus content of the test alloy was given.Combined the thermodynamics and fractal theory,the ef- fect mechanism of phosphorus content on fractal dimensionality of the solid/liquid interface was discussed.

Atomic-level characterization of liquid/solid interface

The detailed understanding of various underlying processes at liquid/solid interfaces requires the development of interface-sensitive and high-resolution experimental techniques with atomic precision.In this perspective,we review the recent advances in studying the liquid/solid interfaces at atomic level by electrochemical scanning tunneling microscope(EC-STM),non-contact atomic force microscopy(NC-AFM),and surface-sensitive vibrational spectroscopies.Different from the ultrahigh vacuum and cryogenic experiments,these techniques are all operated in situ under ambient condition,making the measurements close to the native state of the liquid/solid interface.In the end,we present some perspectives on emerging techniques,which can defeat the limitation of existing imaging and spectroscopic methods in the characterization of liquid/solid interfaces.

Role of temperature gradient in liquid/solid phase solution-diffusion bonding

The liquid-film solution-diffusion bonding of ZCuBe2.5 alloys was conducted using Cu-based alloy powders. The tensile strength of the joint is up to 318 MPa. With the increase of temperature gradient, the bonding time decreases and the interface migration velocity increases remarkably. The appropriate temperature gradient is 5-40 K/cm. Under fixed bonding time, the thickness of diffusion layer increases with the increase of temperature gradient, and this tendency becomes more remarkable with the prolonging of bonding time.

FRACTAL ANALYSES OF DIRECTIONAL SOLIDIFICATION BEHAVIOR OF A Ni-BASE SUPERALLOY

The morphology of solid/liquid interface of a directionally solidification process is described by means of fractal analysis,and the relations among the fractal dimension of the solid/liq- uid interface,solidification rate,dendrite arm space and the phosphorus content of the test al- loys have been given.It was found that the increase of the solidification rate and the phos- phorus content of the test alloy will lead to a increase,following the regularity of exponential function,in the fractal dimension of solid/liquid interface.Furthermore,by combining the fractal theory and the thermodynamic principle with the measured results,it has been proved that the fractal dimension is not only a kind of simple geometrical parameter used in des- cribing irregular geometry,but also a state function depending the change of solidification parameters and chemical compositions.

Recent Progress in Metallurgical Bonding Mechanisms at the Liquid/Solid Interface of Dissimilar Metals Investigated via in situ X-ray Imaging Technologies

The liquid/solid(L/S)interface of dissimilar metals is critical to the microstructure,mechanical strength,and structural integrity of interconnects in many important applications such as electronics,automotive,aeronautics,and astronautics,and therefore has drawn increasing research interests.To design preferential microstructure and optimize mechanical properties of the interconnects,it is crucial to understand the formation and growth mechanisms of diversified structures at the L/S interface during interconnecting.In situ synchrotron radiation or tube-generated X-ray radiography and tomography technologies make it possible to observe the evolution of the L/S interface directly and therefore have greatly propelled the research in this field.Here,we review the recent progress in understanding the L/S interface behaviors using advanced in situ X-ray imaging techniques with a particular focus on the following two issues:(1)interface behaviors in the solder joints for microelectronic packaging including the intermetallic compounds(IMCs)during refl ow,Sn dendrites,and IMCs during solidification and refl ow porosities and(2)growth characteristics and morphological transition of IMCs in the interconnect of dissimilar metals at high temperature.Furthermore,the main achievements and future research perspectives in terms of metallurgical bonding mechanisms under complex conditions with improved X-ray sources and detectors are remarked and discussed.

Simulation of the Influence of Pulsed Magnetic Field on the Superalloy Melt with the Solid-Liquid Interface in Directional Solidification

The effect of the pulsed magnetic field on the grain refinement of superalloy K4169 has been studied in directional solidification.In the presence of the solid-liquid interface condition,the distributions of the electromagnetic force,flow field,temperature field,and Joule heat in front of the solid-liquid interface in directional solidification with the pulsed magnetic field are simulated.The calculation results show that the largest electromagnetic force in the melt appears near the solid-liquid interface,and the electromagnetic force is distributed in a gradient.There are intensive electromagnetic vibrations in front of the solid-liquid interface.The forced melt convection is mainly concentrated in front of the solid-liquid interface,accompanied by a larger flow velocity.The simulation results indicate that the grain refinement is attributed to that the electromagnetic vibration and forced convection increase the nucleation rate and the probability of dendrite fragments survival,for making dendrite easily fragmented,homogenizing the melt temperature,and increasing the undercooling in front of the solid-liquid interface.

Water–solid contact electrification and catalysis adjusted by surface functional groups

Chemical functional groups on solid surfaces greatly influence contact electrification(CE)at water–solid interfaces.Previous studies of their effects mainly swapped materials or bonded related molecules to a substrate,introducing other factors of influence.This work aims at unambiguously demonstrating the role of functional groups in water-polymer CE.We study the contribution of functional groups,by using ion coupled plasma etching to modify a high-density polyethylene(HDPE)film,a polymer with a naturally quasi-null charge transfer ability.Fluoride(HDPE–F)and hydroxyl(HDPE–OH)functional groups are generated and endowed HDPE with charge withdrawing ability.HDPE–F withdraws 2.5–2.7 times more charges than HDPE–OH.Concurrently,the surface charges accumulated generate electrostatic forces,altering the droplets motion.This phenomenon provides another approach to study CE,helping to evaluate the contribution of electrons to solid–liquid CE.Finally,employing HDPE–F to perform contact-electro-catalysis shows its activity is 2.4 times higher than that of commercial fluorinated films.

Influence of coarse tailings on flocculation settlement

The composition of tailings particles in mines plays a key role in the flocculation settlement of slurries.To study the influence of coarse particle tailings(CPTs)on the flocculation settlement of tailings slurries(TSs),static flocculent settling tests,scanning electron microscopy observations,and laser particle size analyses were conducted using the tailings obtained from a copper mine.The results demonstrate that(i)in the accelerated and free settling process,CPTs did not directly settle at the bottom of graduated cylinders;instead,they were netted by the flocculent structures(FSs)and settled together more quickly.The CPTs accelerate the rapid settlement of TSs;the acceleration effect is more obvious when the CPTs content is greater than 50 wt%.(ii)The most appropriate flocculant unit consumption(FUC)is 20 g·t-1,and no substantial increase is observed in the flocculant settling velocity with an increase in the flocculant because the effective FSs did not substantially change and thus did not lead to a notable increase in the settling velocity of the solid–liquid interface(SLI).(iii)In the effective settling space of the thickening facility,free water quickly flowed from the pores of FSs,which is reflected in the period from 0 to 1 min.

Mineral Surface after Reaction with Aqueous Solution at High Temperatures and Pressures

This work presents new experimental results on surface chemistry of reacting minerals and interface kinetics between mineral and aqueous solutions. These experiments were carried out using a flow reactor (packed bed reactor) of an open system as well as a continuous stirred tank reactor, CSTR. The authors measured reaction rates of such minerals as zeolite, albite and carbonate (rhodochrosite, dolomite) in various solutions, and tested corresponding mineral surface by using SEM, XPS, SIMS, etc. This paper mainly presents the experimental results of zeolite dissolution in water and in low pH solutions at room temperature, and dolomite dissolution at elevated temperatures. The results show that the release rates of Si, Al and Na of zeolite are different in most cases. The incongruent dissolution of zeolite is related to surface chemical modifications. The Na, Al and Si release rates for dissolution of albite and zeolite in water and various solutions were measured as a function of temperature, flow velocity, pH and solution composition in the reaction system. In most cases, dissolutions of both albite and zeolite are incongruent. Dissolution of dolomite is also incongruent in most cases and varied with T, pH, and nature of aqueous solutions. For dolomite dissolution, the release rates of Mg are less than those of Ca at high temperatures as T increases from 25 to 300°C. SIMS study indicates that the contents of Al, Na and Si in the leached layer of zeolite or albite surface, change with the distance from the surface, exhibiting a non-linear behaviour within a thickness range of 1000%. The distributions of Ca, Mg, Mn, H and Cl in the leached surface layer of carbonate have a non-linear behaviour too.

Analysis on fluid permeability of dendritic mushy zone during peritectic solidification in a temperature gradient

Compared with the growing applications of peritectic alloys,none research on the fluid permeability K of dendritic network during peritectic solidification has been reported before.The fluid permeability K of dendritic network in the mushy zone during directional solidification of Sn-Ni peritectic alloy was investigated in this study.Examination on the experimental results demonstrates that both the temperature gradient zone melting(TGZM)and Gibbs-Thomson(G–T)effects have obvious influences on the morphology of dendritic network during directional solidification.This is realized through different stages of liquid diffusion within dendritic mushy zone by these effects during directional solidification.The TGZM effect is demonstrated to play a more important role as compared with the G–T effect during directional solidification.Besides,it is shown that the evolution of dendrite network is more complex during peritectic solidification due to the involvement of the peritectic phase.Through the specific surface SV,analytical expression based on the Carman–Kozeny model was proposed to analyze the fluid permeability of dendritic mushy zone in directionally solidified peritectic alloys.In addition,it is interesting to find a rise in permeability K after peritectic reaction in both theoretical predication and experimental results,which is different from that in other alloys.The theoretical predictions show that this rise in fluid permeability K after peritectic reaction is caused by the remelting/resolidification process on dendritic structure by the TGZM and G–T effects during peritectic solidification.

Microstructure and fracture toughness of the Bridgman directionally solidified Fe-Al-Ta eutectic at different solidification rates

Fe-Al-Ta eutectic composites were obtained by a modified Bridgman directional solidification technique at different solidification rates.Solidification microstructure transforms from regular eutectic to eutectic colony with the increase of the solidification rate.The solid/liquid interface of Fe-Al-Ta eutectic evolves from planar interface to cellular interface with the increase of the solidification rate.In addition,threepoint bending method was adopted to study the room-temperature fracture toughness of the as-cast Fe-Al-Ta eutectic alloy and the Fe-Al-Ta eutectic composites.Moreover,the fracture morphologies,the crack propagation path and the strengthening mechanism of Fe-Al-Ta eutectic were discussed.

In situ study on the oscillation of mobile droplets and force analysis during the directional solidification of Al-Bi alloy

During solidifications of immiscible alloys,the motion of droplets at the solid/liquid(S/L)interface is gen-erally driven by dragging force,gravity force,repulsion force of interface,and thermal-solutal Marangoni force,However,there is few in situ study investigating kinetics behavior to analyze the forces on droplets.The mechanism of droplet motion remains unclear due to the unavailability or uncertainty of the effect of convection and solutal Marangoni force on droplet behavior.In this study,directional solidification of im-miscible Al-Bi alloy was observed via synchrotron radiography,and the horizontal oscillation of droplets at S/L interface was detected for the first time.Forces,especially solutal Marangoni force,were calcu-lated based on the in situ measured radius of droplets and thermal-solutal gradients.The experimental results cannot be reasonably explained by the previous analysis model which neglects melt convection.The non-negligible effect of flow on droplet motion was demonstrated,and the force balance of droplet both vertically and horizontally can be obtained considering a lift force of 6.39 × 10^(-9) N and a modified solute-related parameter dσ/dc of 0.45-0.65 J m^(-2),respectively.

Numerical Simulation of Electromagnetic Field and Temperature Field in Medium-Frequency Induction Furnace Melting Process

A mathematical model for describing the melting process in the medium-frequency induction furnace was developed.Finite difference method was applied to deal with coupling electromagnetic field and temperature field in the melting process.The magnetic induction,temperature distribution and the phase interface moving characteristic during melting of the furnace burden were calculated.The effects of the direct current and inductive heating frequency on the process were analyzed.The simulation results show that:In the direction of burden radius,magnetic induction decreases from the outside of the burden to the center.Solid/liquid interface moves gradually from the outside of the burden to the center.The movement speed increases when the burden begins to melt.In the direction of the burden height,the distribution of eddy current in the surface is accord with the edge effect of the coil.Solid/liquid interface moves gradually from the center to the two sides.The direct current has a greater effect on the electromagnetic field and temperature field than frequency.

Hybrid molecular nanostructures with donor-acceptor chains

We have fabricated hybrid molecular chain structures formed by electron acceptor compound 1 and electron donor molecules 2 and 3 at the liquid/solid interface of graphite surface.The structural details of the mono-component and the binary assemblies are revealed by high resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM).Compound 1 can form two well-ordered lamellar patterns at different concentrations.In the co-adsorption structures,compounds 2 and 3 can insert into the space between molecular chains of compound 1 and form large area well-ordered nanoscale phase separated lamellar structures.The unit cell parameters for the coassemblies can be "flexibly" adjusted to make the electron donors and acceptors perfectly match along the molecular chains.Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) results indicate that the electronic properties of individual molecular donors and acceptors are preserved in the binary self-assembly.These results provide molecular insight into the nanoscale phase separation of organic electron acceptors and donors on surfaces and are helpful for the fabrication of surface supramolecular structures and molecular devices.