Electro-assisted photocatalytic reduction of CO_(2) in ambient air using Ag/TNTAs at the gas-solid interface

The direct conversion of atmospheric CO_(2) into fuel via photocatalysis exhibits significant practical application value in advancing the carbon cycle.In this study,we established an electro-assisted photocatalytic system with dual compartments and interfaces,and coated Ag nanoparticles on the titanium nanotube arrays(TNTAs)by polydopamine modification.In the absence of sacrificial agent and alkali absorption liquid conditions,the stable,efficient and highly selective conversion of CO_(2) to CO at the gas-solid interface in ambient air was realized by photoelectric synergy.Specifically,with the assistance of potential,the CO formation rates reached 194.9μmol h^(−1) m^(−2) and 103.9μmol h^(−1) m^(−2) under ultraviolet and visible light irradiation,respectively;the corresponding CO_(2) conversion rates in ambient air were 30%and 16%,respectively.The excellent catalytic effect is mainly attributed to the formation of P–N heterojunction during the catalytic process and the surface plasmon resonance effect.Additionally,the introduction of solid agar electrolytes effectively inhibits the hydrogen evolution reaction and improves the electron utilization rate.This system promotes the development of photocatalytic technology for practical applications and provides new insights and support for the carbon cycle.

Vacancies and interfaces engineering of core-shell heterostuctured NiCoP/NiO as trifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting and zinc-air batteries

The electronic structures and properties of electrocatalysts,which depend on the physicochemical structure and metallic element components,could significantly affect their electrocatalytic performance and their future applications in Zn-air battery(ZAB)and overall water splitting(OWS).Here,by combining vacancies and heterogeneous interfacial engineering,three-dimensional(3D)core-shell NiCoP/NiO heterostructures with dominated oxygen vacancies have been controllably in-situ grown on carbon cloth for using as highly efficient electrocatalysts toward hydrogen and oxygen electrochemical reactions.Theoretical calculation and electrochemical results manifest that the hybridization of NiCoP core with NiO shell produces a strong synergistic electronic coupling effect.The oxygen vacancy can enable the emergence of new electronic states within the band gap,crossing the Fermi levels of the two spin components and optimizing the local electronic structure.Besides,the hierarchical core-shell NiCoP/NiO nanoarrays also endow the catalysts with multiple exposed active sites,faster mass transfer behavior,optimized electronic strutures and improved electrochemical performance during ZAB and OWS applications.

CO_2 exchange at air-sea interface in the Huanghai Sea

During the Huanghai Sea Circulation and Material Flux Expedition in Spring 1996, fco_2 in surface water and atmosphere was measured. The fco2 in surface water varied in a range from 220 to 360 uatm1) while atmospheric concentration was nearly constant at 360μatm, showing that the Huanghai Sea surface waters were undersaturated with respect to atmospheric Co during the time of investigation. A model was developed in this study in order to estimate the Co flux at the air-sea interface. The model incorporates the time-series variations of the distributions in SST (sea surface temperature), salinity, mixed-layer depth, atmospheric fco2, gas-transfer velocity, and CZCS chlorophyll concentration in the Huanghai Sea and was calibrated with the observed fco2 data. The primary parameter affecting fco2 in surface water is the variation of SST through time. The annual fluxes of Co are estimated as 0. 033 Gt C from the sea into the atmosphere and 0. 044 Gt C from the air into sea. The Huanghai Sea, thus behaves as a CO2 sink absorbing 0. 011 Gi C of CO2 a year. which.corresponds to about 0. 5 % of global oceanic absorption capacity.

DISSOLVED OXYGEN DISTRIBUTION AND O_2 FLUXES ACROSS THE SEA-AIR INTERFACE IN EAST CHINA SEA WATERS

This study on the sectional and vertical distribution of dissolved oxygen (DO) and the O_2 fluxes acrossthe sea-air interface in East China Sea (ESC) waters shows that the waters were in steady state and thatthe difference of DO was great in upper and bottom waters in Apr. 1994; but that seawater mixingwas strong and the difference of DO was small in upper and bettom waters in Oct. 1994. The above con-dusions were specially obvious in continental shelf waters under 100m. The DO maximum in subsurfacelayer waters appeared only at several stations and in general the DO in the waters decreased with depth.The horizontal distributions of O_2 fluxes across the sea-air interface appeared in stripes in Leg 9404 whenmost regions covend were supersaturated with O_2. seawater to air flux wn large, and that on section No.1was 1.594 L/m^2·d. The horizontal distribution of O_2 fluxes across the sea-air interface appeared lumpy inLeg 9410, when most regions covered were unsaturated with O_2. O_2 was dissolved from air to seawater,and the fluxes were 0.819 L/m^2·d on section No. 1 in Leg 9310, 0.219 L/m^2·d in Leg 9410. The mainreasons for DO change in surface layer seawater were the mixture of upper and bottom layer water, and theexchange of O_2 across the sea-air interface. The variation of DO by biological activity was only 20% of totalchange of DO.

Relations between Low-Frequency Modes of Climate Variability and Air-Sea Heat Flux at the Mediterranean Interface

The main objective of this work is to examine statistical causality relationships between low-frequency modes of climate variability and winter （December to February） anomaly of net heat flux at the Mediterranean air-sea interface. The introduction of the concept of Granger causality allowed us to examine the influence of these climates indices on the net heat flux anomaly and to select Mediterranean surface regions that really influenced by each index. Results show that the winter anomaly of the net heat flux in the Algerian basin south and the gulf of Lion is mainly caused by the Arctic Oscillation. El Nifio-Southern Oscillation influences much more the Algerian basin north and the northern lonian Sea. The Quasi-Biennial Oscillation affects only the Alboran and the Tyrrhenian Seas. But the Adriatic and Levantine basin are impacted by any climate index. They also show that these climate indices can increase explained variance in winter variations of air-sea net heat flux by 10% to 15%, with a lag of three seasons. These relationships are less persistent and spatially limited.

Diffusion-controlled Adsorption Kinetics of Surfactant at Air/Solution Interface

For the diffusion-controlled adsorption, the expression of dynamic surface adsorption P（t） was ob- tained by solving the diffusion equation. Two cases, i.e. the short and long time limits, were mainly discussed in this paper. From the measured dynamic surface tension of aqueous surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate （SDS） solutions at 25 ℃, the adsorption kinetics of SDS at air/solution interface was studied. It was proved that for both of the short and long time limits, the adsorption process of SDS was controlled by diffusion.

Orientation and Motion of Water Molecules at Air/Water Interface

Here we report a quantitative study of the orientational structure and motion of water molecule at the air/water interface. Analysis of Sum Frequency Generation （SFG） vibrational peak of the free O-H stretching band at 3700 cm^-1 in four experimental configurations showed that orientational motion of water molecule at air/water interface is libratory within a limited angular range. The free OH bond of the interracial water molecule is tilted around 33°from the interface normal and the orientational distribution or motion width is less than 15°. This picture is significantly different from the previous conclusion that the interracial water molecule orientation varies over a broad range within the ultrafast vibrational relaxation time, the only direct experimental study concluded for ultrafast and broad orient, ational motion of a liquid interface by Wei et al. （Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 4799, （2001）） using single SFG experimental configuration.

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON TURBULENT COHERENT STRUCTURES NEAR A SHEARED AIR-WATER INTERFACE

The turbulence structures near a sheared air-water interface were experimentally investigated with the hydrogen bubble visualization technique. Surface shear was imposed by an airflow over the water flow which was kept free from surface waves. Results show that the wind shear has the main influence on coherent structures under air-water interfaces. Low- and high- speed streaks form in the region close to the interface as a result of the imposed shear stress. When a certain airflow velocity is reached, “turbulent spots” appear randomly at low-speed streaks with some characteristics of hairpin vortices. At even higher shear rates, the flow near the interface is dominated primarily by intermittent bursting events. The coherent structures observed near sheared air-water interfaces show qualitative similarities with those occurring in near-wall turbulence. However, a few distinctive phenomena were also observed, including the fluctuating thickness of the instantaneous boundary layer and vertical vortices in bursting processes, which appear to be associated with the characteristics of air-water interfaces.

SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF LOW-SPEED STREAKS UNDER SHEARED AIR-WATER INTERFACES

The characteristics of low-speed fluid streaks occurring under sheared air-water interfaces were examined by means of hydrogen bubble visualization technique. A critical shear condition under which the streaky structure first appears was determined to be u(tau) approximate to 0.19 cm/s. The mean spanwise streak spacing increases with distance from the water surface owing to merging and bursting processes, and a linear relationship describing variation of non-dimensional spacing <(<lambda>+)over bar> versus y(+) was found essentially independent of shear stress on the interface. Values of <(<lambda>+)over bar>, however, are remarkably smaller than their counterparts in the near-wall region of turbulent boundary layers. Though low-speed streaks occur randomly in time and space, the streak spacing exhibits a lognormal probability distribution behavior. A tentative explanation concerning the formation of streaky structure is suggested, and the fact that <(<lambda>+)over bar> takes rather smaller values than that in wall turbulence is briefly discussed.

The Film-forming Behavior on the Interface between Air and Hydrosol of Fe_2O_3 Nanoparticles

The film forming behavior on the interface between air and hydrosol of Fe2O3 nanoparticles was investigated by the surface pressure-time isotherms, the surface pressure-trough area isotherms, Brewster angle microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. It is found that the freshly prepared hydrosol of Fe2O3 nanoparticles is not stable. The surface pressure increases with the aging time and finally approaches a constant, and the smaller the concentration is, the smaller the surface pressure is stabilized at and the shorter the time the hydrosol reaching stable needs. The surface pressure also increases with compression until collapsed, and the longer the hydrosol is aged, the higher the collapsing pressure is. A uniform and compact film composed of nanoparticles with an average diameter of about 2-3 nm on the air-hydrosol interface is observed by Brewster angle microscope and transmission electron microscope.

Dynamic Study of Gemini Surfactant and Single-chain Surfactant at Air/Water Interface

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation are used to study the properties of gemini surfactant of ethyl-α,ω-bis(dodecyldimethylammonium bromide) (C12C2C12) and dodecyl- trimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) at the air/water interface, respectively. In the two systems, the surfactant concentrations are both 28 wt. %, and other conditions are also the same. After reaching the thermodynamic equilibrium, the concentration profiles, the radial distributions functions (RDF) and the mean squared displacement (MSD) are investigated. The results reveal that the surface activity of C12C2C12 surfactant is higher than DTAB surfactant.

Simulation of Air-Water Interface Effects for High-speed Planing Hull

High-speed planing crafts have successfully evolved through developments in the last several decades.Classical approaches such as inviscid potential flow–based methods and the empirically based Savitsky method provide general understanding for practical design.However,sometimes such analyses suffer inaccuracies since the air–water interface effects,especially in the transition phase,are not fully accounted for.Hence,understanding the behaviour at the transition speed is of fundamental importance for the designer.The fluid forces in planing hulls are dominated by phenomena such as flow separation at various discontinuities viz.,knuckles,chines and transom,with resultant spray generation.In such cases,the application of potential theory at high speeds introduces limitations.This paper investigates the simulation of modelling of the pre-planing behaviour with a view to capturing the air–water interface effects,with validations through experiments to compare the drag,dynamic trim and wetted surface area.The paper also brings out the merits of gridding strategies to obtain reliable results especially with regard to spray generation due to the air–water interface effects.The verification and validation studies serve to authenticate the use of the multi-gridding strategies on the basis of comparisons with simulations using model tests.It emerges from the study that overset/chimera grids give better results compared with single unstructured hexahedral grids.Two overset methods are investigated to obtain reliable estimation of the dynamic trim and drag,and their ability to capture the spray resulting from the air–water interaction.The results demonstrate very close simulation of the actual flow kinematics at steady-speed conditions in terms of spray at the air–water interface,drag at the pre-planing and full planing range and dynamic trim angles.

Absolute Orientation of Molecules with Competing Hydrophilic Head Groups at the Air/Water Interface Probed with Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy

The constructive or destructive spectral interference between the molecular groups oriented up and down at the interface in the sum-frequency generation （SFG） spectra provides a direct measurement of the absolute orientation of these molecular groups. This simple approach can be employed to interrogate absolute molecular orientations other than using the complex absolute phase measurement in the SFG studies. We used the -CN group in the p-cyanophenol （PCP） molecule as the internal phase standard, and we measured the phases of the SFG fields of the -CN groups in the 3,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-benzonitrile （35DMHBN） and 2,6-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-benzonitrile （26DMHBN） at the air/water interface by measuring the SFG spectra of the aqueous surfaces of the mixtures of the PCP, 35DMHBN, and 26DMHBN solutions. The results showed that the 35DMHBN had its -CN group pointing into the aqueous phase; while the 26DMHBN, similar to the PCP, had its -CN group pointing away from the aqueous phase. The tilt angles of the -CN group for both the 35DMHBN and 26DMHBN molecules at the air/water interface were around 25°-45° from the interface normal. These results provided insights on the understanding of the detailed balance of the competing factors, such as solvation of the polar head groups, hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic effects, etc., on influencing the absolute molecular orientation at the air/water interface.

Investigation of Correlation between the Temperature on Air-Snow and Snow-Ice Interfaces and the Atmospheric Air Temperature

Solution of the practical problems of the ice engineering requires the data about the strength of the ice cover that depends upon its temperature. In most cases, the snow lies on the ice cover and the ice temperature differs from the atmospheric air temperature. To reveal the correlation of the air temperature with temperature on interfaces air-snow and snow-ice, the known in the thermophysics solution of the problem of the heat transfer through the multilayer plate was applied. Derived solution connects the temperature of air and temperature on the snow-ice interface and satisfactory correlates with data of the field measurements of the temperature within snow layer and ice cover and ice thickness on the Heilongjiang （Amur） River. Results of investigation are recommended for the ice temperature evaluation in engineering practice.

Coherent Vibrational Dynamics and High-resolution Nonlinear Spectroscopy： A Comparison with the Air/DMSO Liquid Interface

We present a comparative study on the C-H stretching vibrations at air/DMSO （dimethyl sulfoxide） interface with both the free-induction decay （FID） coherent vibrational dynamics and the sub-wavenumber high resolution sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy measurements. In principle the frequency-domain and time-domain spectroscopic measurements should generate identical information for a given molecular system. However, when the molecular systems are with several coupled or overlapping vibrational modes, obtain- ing detailed spectroscopic and coherent dynamics information is not as straightforward and rather difficult from either the time-domain or the frequency domain measurements. For the case of air/DMSO interface that is with moderately complex vibrational spectra, we show that the frequency-domain measurement with sub-wavenumber high-resolution sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy is probably more advantageous than the time- domain measurement in obtaining quantitative understanding of the structure and coherent dynamics of the molecular interface.

Reliability Analysis for Air-Gap Detonation Transfer Interface by Numerical Simulation

In order to reduce the test samples in the reliability design and assessment,the function process of air-gap detonation transfer interface was simulated by LS-DYNA software.The stress nephograms for the detonation transfer processes of six kinds of design parameters were analyzed.The results show that when the length of air-gap is between 2 and 18 mm,the detonation can be normally transferred which is consistent with the test result of NeyerD method.The result has referential value for design and analysis of similar products.

PIV Studies on Turbulence Structure in Air/Water Interface with Wind-Induced Water Waves

When wind appears over the free surface, water waves and turbulence are generated by an interfacial shear stress. In particular, turbulent diffusion promotes significantly mass and momentum transport beneath the interface between the water and air significantly in ocean and lakes, and thus it is very important for global environment problems to reveal such turbulence property and coherent structure. Simultaneous measurements of velocities and free-surface elevation allow us to conduct reasonably the phase analysis of the coherent structure in interfacial shear layer. Furthermore, multi-point measurements such as PIV are very powerful to detect the space-time structure of coherent motions. Therefore, in the present study, we developed a specially designed PIV system which can measure the velocity components and surface-elevation fluctuation simultaneously by using two sets of high-speed cameras to reveal the coherent structure in the interfacial shear layer.

PREPARATION OF PERFLUOROOCTANOYL-MODIFIED POLY(VINYL-ALCOHOL)S AND THEIR ADSORPTION AT AN AIR-WATER INTERFACE

Perfluorooctanoyl modified poly(vinyl alcohol)s (FPVA) were prepared by means of substituting a small amount of hydroxyl groups on the backbone of poly(vinyl alcohol), for which the initial degree of polymerization is equal to 1750. The substitution extent, defined by the number of substituting units in a chain, for the four FPVA samples was in the range of 0.5-5 perfluorooctanoyl groups per chain. The FPVA samples with the highest substitution extent still had good solubility in water. It was shown by experimental measurement at 30.0 +/- 0.1 degreesC that the surface tension of the aqueous solution of the highest substituted FPVA decreased to 16.6 mN/m at a higher concentration, e.g. about 0.1 g/mL. Obviously, macromolecules of FPVA exhibit a very strong tendency to adsorb at the air-water interface, because the hydrophobic perfluorooctanoyl groups in FPVA have a very high surface activity as they are in small molecular fluorinated surfactants. The chain conformation of such a model polymer adsorbed on the air-water interface was also discussed.

THE REGIONAL AIR-SEA COUPLED OSCILLATION IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

This study examined the regional air sea coupled interaction in the South China Sea (SCS), based on the 1979-1995 NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data of sea surface temperature (SST) and meridional wind (V component). Singular value decomposition (SVD) and single field principal component analysis (PCA) were employed to analyse the SST and V anomalies and compare the results with each other. It was found that the leading mode of SVD explained a predominant amount of squared covariance between the SST and meridional wind V, and that the time series expansion coefficients of the first mode between SST and V from PCA and SVD resembled very much each other. This infers that the meridional wind, as an indicator of Asian monsoon, is closely related with the SST through the air sea interaction in the SCS. The spatial patterns of the first mode of SST and V exhibit ellipse shaped variance in the SCS center and a NE SW oriented main axis, which are much similar to those in winter season. These results show that the most active center for both V and SST is in the SCS, which suggests that a regional air sea coupled oscillation possibly exists there for the whole year and is noticeable especially during the winter season. So the SCS is a very important region for the forming of the Asian Monsoon and the climate of the west Pacific.

Transition Periods Between Sea Ice Concentration and Sea Surface Air Temperature in the Arctic Revealed by an Abnormal Running Correlation

This study used the synthetic running correlation coefficient calculation method to calculate the running correlation coefficients between the daily sea ice concentration(SIC) and sea surface air temperature(SSAT) in the Beaufort-Chukchi-East Siberian-Laptev Sea(BCEL Sea), Kara Sea and southern Chukchi Sea, with an aim to understand and measure the seasonally occurring changes in the Arctic climate system. The similarities and differences among these three regions were also discussed. There are periods in spring and autumn when the changes in SIC and SSAT are not synchronized, which is a result of the seasonally occurring variation in the climate system. These periods are referred to as transition periods. Spring transition periods can be found in all three regions, and the start and end dates of these periods have advancing trends. The multiyear average duration of the spring transition periods in the BCEL Sea, Kara Sea and southern Chukchi Sea is 74 days, 57 days and 34 days, respectively. In autumn, transition periods exist in only the southern Chukchi Sea, with a multiyear average duration of only 16 days. Moreover, in the Kara Sea, positive correlation events can be found in some years, which are caused by weather time scale processes.