DISLOCATION EMISSION AND EQUATION OF ENERGY BARRIERS AT MODEL I CRACK TIP

The propagation for the model I crack in aluminum single crystal has been directly studied by in-situ TEM observation.The equation of energy barrier of the dislocation building-up and emission at the model I crack tip has been established by means of Peierls-Nabarro dislocation model and starting from angle of energy.By means of calculation,the critical value of spontaneous emission of the dislocations from tip of the model I crack was obtained.

Dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensate in a harmonic potential and a Gaussian energy barrier

We have studied the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensate by solving numerically the Gross-Pitaevskii （CP） equation. We examined the periodic behaviour of the condensate in a shifted harmonic potential, and further demonstrated the tunneling effect of a condensate through a Gaussian energy barrier, which is inserted after the condensate has been excited by shifting the harmonic trapping potential to a side. Moreover, it is shown that the initial condensate evolves dynamically into two separate moving condensates after the tunneling time under certain conditions.

Energy barrier for configurational transformation of graphene nanoribbon on nanotube

A graphene nanoribbon （GNR） has two basic configurations when winding on the outer surface of a carbon nanotube （CNT）： helix and scroll. Here the transformation between the two configurations is studied utilizing molecular dynamics simulations. The energy barrier during the transformation as well as its relationship with the interfacial energy and the radius of CNT are investigated. Our work offers further insights into the formation of desirable helix/scroll of GNR winding on nanotubes or nanowires, and thus can enable novel design of potential graphene-based electronics.

Self-diffusion Coefficient Model Based on Activation Energy and Free Volume

A new model for self-diffusion coefficients was proposed based oil both the concepts of molecular free volume and activation energy. The unknown parameters of this model were clearly defined and compared with the Chapman-Enskog model. At the same time a new method for calculating activation energy was devised and applied to the new model. In addition, the free volume was defined by implementing the generic van der Waals equation of state, the radial distribution function of which was obtained by using the Morsali- Goharshadi empirical formula. Under the same conditions, the new model was better than the original free volume model.

Investigation of operating parameters on CO2 splitting by dielectric barrier discharge plasma

Experiments of CO_2 splitting by dielectric barrier discharge（DBD） plasma were carried out, and the influence of CO_2 flow rate, plasma power, discharge voltage, discharge frequency on CO_2 conversion and process energy efficiency were investigated. It was shown that the absolute quantity of CO_2 decomposed was only proportional to the amount of conductive electrons across the discharge gap,and the electron amount was proportional to the discharge power; the energy efficiency of CO_2 conversion was almost a constant at a lower level, which was limited by CO_2 inherent discharge character that determined a constant gap electric field strength. This was the main reason why CO_2 conversion rate decreased as the CO_2 flow rate increase and process energy efficiency was decreased a little as applied frequency increased. Therefore, one can improve the CO_2 conversion by less feed flow rate or larger discharge power in DBD plasma, but the energy efficiency is difficult to improve.

Effects of a flexible net barrier on the dynamic behaviours and interception of debris flows in mountainous areas

Flexible net barriers are a new type of effective mitigation measure against debris flows in valleys and can affect the kinematic energy and mass of debris flows. Here, ten flume tests were performed to study the dynamic behaviours of debris flows with differences in volumes, concentrations(solid volume fraction), and travel distances after interception by a uniform flexible net barrier. A high-speed camera was used to monitor the whole test process, and their dynamic behaviours were recorded. A preliminary computational framework on energy conversion is proposed according to the deposition mechanisms and outflow of debris flow under the effects of the flexible net barrier. The experimental results show that the dynamic interaction process between a debris flow and the flexible net barrier can be divided into two stages:(a) the two-phase impact of the leading edge of the debris flow with the net and(b) collision and friction between the body of the debris flow and intercepted debris material. The approach velocity of a debris flow decreases sharply(a maximum of 63%) after the interception by the net barrier, and the mass ratio of the debris material being intercepted and the kinetic energy ratio of the debris material being absorbed by the net barrier are close due to the limited interception efficiency of the flexible net barrier, which is believed to be related to the flexibility. The energy ratio of outflow is relative small despite the large permeability of the flexible net barrier.

Interfacial coordination bonds accelerate charge separation for unprecedented hydrogen evolution over S-scheme heterojunction

Inspired by natural photosynthesis,fabricating high-performance S-scheme heterojunction is regarded as a successful tactic to address energy and environmental issues.Herein,NH_(2)-MIL-125(Ti)/Zn_(0.5)Cd_(0.5)S/NiS(NMT/ZCS/NiS)S-scheme heterojunction with interfacial coordination bonds is successfully synthesized through in-situ solvothermal strategy.Notably,the optimal NMT/ZCS/NiS S-scheme heterojunction exhibits comparable photocatalytic H_(2)evolution(PHE)rate of about 14876.7μmol h^(−1)g^(−1)with apparent quantum yield of 24.2%at 420 nm,which is significantly higher than that of recently reported MOFs-based photocatalysts.The interfacial coordination bonds(Zn–N,Cd–N,and Ni–N bonds)accelerate the separation and transfer of photogenerated charges,and the NiS as cocatalyst can provide more catalytically active sites,which synergistically improve the photocatalytic performance.Moreover,theoretical calculation results display that the construction of NMT/ZCS/NiS S-scheme heterojunction also optimize the binding energy of active site-adsorbed hydrogen atoms to enable fast adsorption and desorption.Photoassisted Kelvin probe force microscopy,in-situ irradiation X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy,and theoretical calculations provide sufficient evidence of the S-scheme charge migration mechanism.This work offers unique viewpoints for simultaneously accelerating the charge dynamics and optimizing the binding strength between the active sites and hydrogen adsorbates over S-scheme heterojunction.

Effect of Interaction upon Translocation of Confined Polymer Chain Through Nanopore

The effect of the interaction between nanopore and chain monomer on the translocation of a single polymer chain confined in a finite size square through an interacting nanopore to a large space has been studied by two-dimensional bond fluctuation model with Monte Carlo simulation. Results indicate that the free energy barrier before the successful translocation of the chain depends linearly on the chain length as well as the nanopore length for different pore-polymer interaction, and the attractive interaction reduces the free energy barrier, leading to the reduction of the average trapping time.

Experimental and Theoretical Study of Deprotonation of DNA Adenine Cation Radical

Among all the DNA components, extremely redox-active guanine （G） and adenine （A） bases are subject to facile loss of an electron and form cation radicals （G＋＂ and A＋＇） when exposed to irradiation or radical oxidants. The subsequent deprotonation of G＋＇ and A＋＇ can invoke DNA damage or interrupt hole transfer in DNA. However, compared with intensive reports for G＋, studies on the deprotonation of A＋ are still limited at present. Herein, we investigate the deprotonation behavior of A＋. by time-resolved laser flash photolysis. The deprotonation product of A（N6-H）＇ is observed and the deprotonation rate constant, （2.0±0.1）×10 7 s-1, is obtained at room temperature. Further, the deprotonation rate con- stants of A＋. are measured at temperatures varying from 280 K to 300 K, from which the activation energy for the N6-H deprotonation is determined to be （17.1±1.0） kJ/mol by Arrhenius equation. In addition, by incorporating the aqueous solvent effect, we perform density functional theory calculations for A＋ deprotonation in free base and in duplex DNA. Together with experimental results, the deprotonation mechanisms of A＋ in free base and in duplex DNA are revealed, which are of fundamental importance for understanding the oxidative DNA damage and designing DNA-based electrochemical devices.

Rapid synthesis of Pd single‐atom/cluster as highly active catalysts for Suzuki coupling reactions

Palladium(Pd)‐based catalysts are essential to drive high‐performance Suzuki coupling reactions,which are powerful tools for the synthesis of functional organic compounds.Herein,we developed a solution‐rapid‐annealing process to stabilize nitrogen‐mesoporous carbon supported Pd single‐atom/cluster(Pd/NMC)material,which provided a catalyst with superior performance for Suzuki coupling reactions.In comparison with commercial palladium/carbon(Pd/C)catalysts,the Pd/NMC catalyst exhibited significantly boosted activity(100%selectivity and 95%yield)and excellent stability(almost no decay in activity after 10 reuse cycles)for the Suzuki coupling reactions of chlorobenzenes,together with superior yield and excellent selectivity in the fields of the board scope of the reactants.Moreover,our newly developed rapid annealing process of precursor solutions is applied as a generalized method to stabilize metal clusters(e.g.Pd,Pt,Ru),opening new possibilities in the construction of efficient highly dispersed metal atom and sub‐nanometer cluster catalysts with high performance.

Reaction dynamics of proton-rich nuclei at energies around the Coulomb barrier:the cases of^(7)Be,^(8)B,and^(17)F

The exploration of reaction dynamics,particularly the breakup and fusion mechanisms of proton drip-line nuclei at energies around the Coulomb barrier,is crucial in the feld of nuclear physics.This study reviews experimental investigations on the reactions induced by proton-rich nuclei,^(7)Be,^(8)B,and^(17)F,including elastic scattering and direct and fusion reactions at the near-barrier energies.In particular,we briefy introduce complete kinematic measurements of^(8)B+^(120)Sn and^(17)F+^(58)Ni at the energies of interest.Distinct reaction dynamics are observed for proton-rich nuclei compared with neutron-rich nuclei.

Theoretical Study of Decomposition Pathways for Rare-gas-containing Compounds HRgX (Rg = He, Ne, Ar, Kr; X = Cl, Br)

Eight species, HRgX （Rg = He, Ne, Ar, Kr; X = Cl, Br）, are predicted to have bending transition states at B3PW91/AUG-cc-PVTZ level, leading to 2-body decomposition pathway like H-Rg-X→Rg＋HX. The reaction path has been obtained with Intricate Reaction Coordinates （IRC） method on identical theoretical level. Additionally, the linear transition states of HArCl, HArBr, HKrCl and HKrBr were obtained at MP2/6-311 ＋＋G （2d, 2p） level, resulting in 3-body dissociation channel as H-Rg-X→H ＋ Rg＋ X.

Comparison of two thioxopeptide bond photoswitches in insect kinin

The photoisomerization abilities of secondary thioxopeptide bond(CS-NH) and thioxo prolyl bond(CS-N) incorporated into the C-terminal pentapeptide of insect kinin were compared.H-Phe-Phe-Ψ[CS-NH]-D-Ala-Trp-Gly-NH_2 and H-Phe-Tyr-Ψ[CS-N]- Pro-Trp-Gly-NH_2 were studied by UV-vis absorption.The isomerization energy barriers of the two segments,Ac-Phe-Ψ[CS-NH]- D-Ala-NH_2 and Ac-Tyr-Ψ[CS-N]-Pro-NH_2 picked from the two peptides,were calculated using ab initio method.The cis isomer of CS-N is more stable than th...

In Situ Reaction Fabrication of a Mixed-Ion/Electron-Conducting Skeleton Toward Stable Lithium Metal Anodes

Lithium metal batteries are emerging as a strong candidate in the future energy storage market due to its extremely high energy density.However,the uncontrollable lithium dendrites and volume change of lithium metal anodes severely hinder its application.In this work,the porous Cu skeleton modified with Cu_(6)Sn_(5)layer is prepared via dealloying brass foil following a facile electroless process.The porous Cu skeleton with large specific surface area and high electronic conductivity effectively reduces the local current density.The Cu_(6)Sn_(5)can react with lithium during the discharge process to form lithiophilic Li_(7)Sn_(2)in situ to promote Li-ions transport and reduce the nucleation energy barrier of lithium to guide the uniform lithium deposition.Therefore,more than 300 cycles at 1 mA cm^(−2)are achieved in the half-cell with an average Coulombic efficiency of 97.5%.The symmetric cell shows a superior cycle life of more than 1000 h at 1 mA cm^(−2)with a small average hysteresis voltage of 16 mV.When coupled with LiFePO_(4)cathode,the full cell also maintains excellent cycling and rate performance.

Analysis of meniscus beneath metastable droplets and wetting transition on micro/nano textured surfaces

Tile expressions of interface flee energy （IFE） of composite droplets with meniscal liquid-air interlhce in metastable state on nlicro/nano textured snrfaces were formulated. Then tile parameters to describe the meniscus were determined based on the principle of minimtun 1FE. Furthermore, the IFE barriers and the necessary and sufficient conditions of drop wetting transition fl＇om Cassie to Wenzel were analyzed and the corresponding criteria were lk^rmulated. The results show that the liquid-air interface below a composite droplet is fiat when the post pitches are relatively small, but in a shape of curved meniscus when the piteches are comparatively large and the curvature depends on structural parameters. The angle between meniscus and pillar wall is just equal to the supplementary angle of intrinsic contact angle of post material. The calculations also illustrate that Cassie droplets will transform to Wenzel state when post pitch is large enough or when drop volume is sufficiently small. The opposite transition from Wenzel to Cassie state, however, is unable to take place spontaneously because the energy barrier is always positive. Finally, the calculation results of this model are well consistent with tile experimental obserwttions in literatures for the wetting transition of droplets from Cassie to Wenzel state.

Modulating J-V hysteresis of planar perovskite solar cells and mini-modules via work function engineering

Commercialization of perovskite solar cells(PSCs) requires the development of high-efficiency devices with none current density-voltage(J-V) hysteresis. Here, electron transport layers(ETLs) with gradual change in work function(WF) are successfully fabricated and employed as an ideal model to investigate the energy barriers, charge transfer and recombination kinetics at ETL/perovskite interface. The energy barrier for electron injection existing at ETL/perovskite is directly assessed by surface photovoltage microscopy, and the results demonstrate the tunable barriers have significant impact on the J-V hysteresis and performance of PSCs. By work function engineering of ETL, PSCs exhibit PCEs over 21% with negligible hysteresis. These results provide a critical understanding of the origin reason for hysteresis effect in planar PSCs, and clear reveal that the J-V hysteresis can be effectively suppressed by carefully tuning the interface features in PSCs. By extending this strategy to a modified formamidinium-cesium-rubidium(FA-Cs-Rb) perovskite system, the PCEs are further boosted to 24.18%. Moreover, 5 cm × 5 cm perovskite mini-modules are also fabricated with an impressive efficiency of 20.07%, demonstrating compatibility and effectiveness of our strategy on upscaled devices.

Influence of Ga^+ ion irradiation on thermal relaxation of exchange bias field in exchange-coupled CoFe/IrMn bilayers

This paper reports that the CoFe/IrMn bilayers are deposited by magnetron sputtering on the surfaces of thermallyoxidized Si substrates. It investigates the thermal relaxations of both non-irradiated and Ca^＋ ion irradiated CoFe/IrMn bilayers by means of holding the bilayers in a negative saturation field. The results show that exchange bias field decreases with the increase of holding time period for both non-irradiated and Ca^＋ ion irradiated CoFe/IrMn bilayers. Exchange bias field is also found to be smaller upon irradiation at higher ion dose. This reduction of exchange bias field is attributed to the change of energy barrier induced by ion-radiation.

Hydrogen Diffusion in Aluminum Melts: An ab initio Molecular Dynamics Study

The diffusion process of hydrogen in aluminum melts was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. The pair correlation function, first peak position, and coordination number was calculated and differences in the structural properties among Al-H, Cl-H, and Al-Cl pair were examined. The mechanism of chlorine on improving hydrogen diffusion was discussed. From an ab initio molecular dynamics calculations, the diffusivity of hydrogen in liquid aluminum as D（T）=（0.118×10-4 m2/s）exp（-0.316 eV/kT） is obtained, which is in good agreement with the experimental data. Correspondingly the diffusivity with presence of chlorine is promoted as D（T）=（0.09×10-4 m2/s）exp（-0.251 eV/kT）. It can be concluded that the diffusion of hydrogen in aluminum melts can be enhanced in the presence of chlorine.

Theoretical Study of N_2O Adsorption and Decomposition on the InN (0001) Surface

The adsorption and decomposition of N2O on the InN （0001） surface have been explored employing density functional theory method. To study the most favorable N2O adsorption model, ten typical adsorption cases （four for the parallel style and six for the vertical style） were proposed. The calculated results indicate that the parallel models are energetically preferred over the vertical models. The parallelly adsorbed N2O prefers to be dissociated on the surface, the dissociated O atom is combined at the fcc site, and the N-N piece is desorbed from the surface and forms N2 molecules. The comparison of the density of states of InN （0001） surface before and after N2O adsorption is analyzed in detail. Through the searching for transition state of decomposition reaction, a very low energy barrier of 45.0 KJ/mol is derived.

Combined multi-level quantum mechanics theories and molecular mechanics study of water-induced transition state of OH^- + CO_2 reaction in aqueous solution

The presence of a solvent interacting with a system brings about qualitative changes from the corresponding gas-phase reactions. A solvent can not only change the energetics along the reaction pathway, but also radically alter the reaction mechanism. Here, we investigated the water-induced transition state of the OH^-＋CO2→HCO3^- reaction using a multi-level quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics method with an explicit water model. The solvent energy contribution along the reaction pathway has a maximum value which induces the highest energy point on the potential of mean force. The charge transfer from OH^- to CO2 results in the breaking of the OH^- solvation shell and the forming of the CO2 solvation shell. The loss of hydrogen bonds in the OH^- solvation shell without being compensated by the formation of hydrogen bonds in the CO2 solvation shell induces the transition state in the aqueous solution. The calculated free energy reaction barrier at the CCSD（T）/MM level of theory, 11.8 kcal/mol, agrees very well with the experimental value, 12.1 kcal/mol.