Flexible, Transparent and Conductive Metal Mesh Films with Ultra‑High FoM for Stretchable Heating and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Despite the growing demand for transparent conductive films in smart and wearable electronics for electromagnetic interference(EMI)shielding,achieving a flexible EMI shielding film,while maintaining a high transmittance remains a significant challenge.Herein,a flexible,transparent,and conductive copper(Cu)metal mesh film for EMI shielding is fabricated by self-forming crackle template method and electroplating technique.The Cu mesh film shows an ultra-low sheet resistance(0.18Ω□^(-1)),high transmittance(85.8%@550 nm),and ultra-high figure of merit(>13,000).It also has satisfactory stretchability and mechanical stability,with a resistance increases of only 1.3%after 1,000 bending cycles.As a stretchable heater(ε>30%),the saturation temperature of the film can reach over 110°C within 60 s at 1.00 V applied voltage.Moreover,the metal mesh film exhibits outstanding average EMI shielding effectiveness of 40.4 dB in the X-band at the thickness of 2.5μm.As a demonstration,it is used as a transparent window for shielding the wireless communication electromagnetic waves.Therefore,the flexible and transparent conductive Cu mesh film proposed in this work provides a promising candidate for the next-generation EMI shielding applications.

Significantly Improved High-Temperature Energy Storage Performance of BOPP Films by Coating Nanoscale Inorganic Layer

Biaxially oriented polypropylene(BOPP)is one of the most commonly used commercial capacitor films,but its upper operating temperature is below 105℃due to the sharply increased electrical conduction loss at high temperature.In this study,growing an inorganic nanoscale coating layer onto the BOPP film's surface is proposed to suppress electrical conduction loss at high temperature,as well as increase its upper operating temperature.Four kinds of inorganic coating layers that have different energy band structure and dielectric property are grown onto the both surface of BOPP films,respectively.The effect of inorganic coating layer on the high-temperature energy storage performance has been systematically investigated.The favorable coating layer materials and appropriate thickness enable the BOPP films to have a significant improvement in high-temperature energy storage performance.Specifically,when the aluminum nitride(AIN)acts as a coating layer,the AIN-BOPP-AIN sandwich-structured films possess a discharged energy density of 1.5 J cm^(-3)with an efficiency of 90%at 125℃,accompanying an outstandingly cyclic property.Both the discharged energy density and operation temperature are significantly enhanced,indicating that this efficient and facile method provides an important reference to improve the high-temperature energy storage performance of polymer-based dielectric films.

Numerical and experimental study on the falling film flow characteristics with the effect of co-current gas flow in hydrogen liquefaction process

Liquid hydrogen storage and transportation is an effective method for large-scale transportation and utilization of hydrogen energy. Revealing the flow mechanism of cryogenic working fluid is the key to optimize heat exchanger structure and hydrogen liquefaction process(LH2). The methods of cryogenic visualization experiment, theoretical analysis and numerical simulation are conducted to study the falling film flow characteristics with the effect of co-current gas flow in LH2spiral wound heat exchanger.The results show that the flow rate of mixed refrigerant has a great influence on liquid film spreading process, falling film flow pattern and heat transfer performance. The liquid film of LH2mixed refrigerant with column flow pattern can not uniformly and completely cover the tube wall surface. As liquid flow rate increases, the falling film flow pattern evolves into sheet-column flow and sheet flow, and liquid film completely covers the surface of tube wall. With the increase of shear effect of gas-phase mixed refrigerant in the same direction, the liquid film gradually becomes unstable, and the flow pattern eventually evolves into a mist flow.

Highly Flexible Graphene-Film-Based Rectenna for Wireless Energy Harvesting

Herein,we report the design,fabrication,and performance of two wireless energy harvesting devices based on highly flexible graphene macroscopic films(FGMFs).We first demonstrate that benefiting from the high conductivity of up to 1×10^(6)S m^(-1)and good resistive stability of FGMFs even under extensive bending,the FGMFs-based rectifying circuit(GRC)exhibits good flexibility and RF-to-DC efficiency of 53%at 2.1 GHz.Moreover,we further expand the application of FGMFs to a flexible wideband monopole rectenna and a 2.45 GHz wearable rectenna for harvesting wireless energy.The wideband rectenna at various bending conditions produces a maximum conversion efficiency of 52%,46%,and 44%at the 5th Generation(5G)2.1 GHz,Industrial Long-Term Evolution(LTE)2.3 GHz,and Scientific Medical(ISM)2.45 GHz,respectively.A 2.45 GHz GRC is optimized and integrated with an AMC-backed wearable antenna.The proposed 2.45 GHz wearable rectenna shows a maximum conversion efficiency of 55.7%.All the results indicate that the highly flexible graphene-film-based rectennas have great potential as a wireless power supplier for smart Internet of Things(loT)applications.

Enhanced electrochemical and photocatalytic performance achieved through dual incorporation of SnO_(2)and WO_(3)nanoparticles into LDH layer fabricated on PEO-coated AZ31 Mg alloy

This study explores the potential of LDH flakes decorated with metallic oxide nanoparticles to function as both anti-corrosion barriers against chloride anions and heterogeneous photocatalysts for tetracycline degradation under visible light.The process involves modifying the primarily MgO-based inorganic porous film by growing a MgFe LDH film,followed by the individual and dual incorporation of SnO_(2)and WO_(3)nanoparticles.The dual incorporation of these nanoparticles into the LDH matrix leads to synergistic interactions,effectively sealing pre-existing defects within LDH flakes and facilitating the in-situ formation of catalytic sites through oxidation and the induction of surface oxygen vacancy defects,which synergistically contribute to the enhancement of both electrochemical and photocatalytic activities.The enhanced electrochemical stability is reflected in a significant reduction in corrosion current density by 4 orders of magnitude compared to unmodified porous film.Additionally,the decorated film demonstrates sustained photocatalytic functionality,achieving significant degradation(95.5%)of tetracycline within two hours.This study presents a novel approach,highlighting the dual effectiveness of LDHs decorated by dual metal oxides as an anti-corrosive agent and photocatalyst,with promising implications for environmental remediation and wastewater purification.

Effects of Atmospheric Pressure on Developmental Characteristics and the Stability of Air Entraining Agent for Concrete

In order to ascertain the effects of atmospheric pressure on developmental characteristics and the stability of AEA(air-entraining agent)solution bubbles,AEA solution experiments and AEA solution bubble experiments were,respectively,conducted in Peking(50 m,101.2 kPa)and Lhasa(3,650 m,63.1 kPa).Surface tensions and inflection-point concentrations were tested based on AEA solutions,whilst developmental characteristics,thicknesses and elastic coefficients of liquid films were tested based on air bubbles of AEA solutions.The study involved three types of AEAs,which were TM-O,226A,and 226S.The experimental results show that initial sizes of TM-O,226A,and 226S are,respectively,increased by 43.5%,17.5%,and 3.8%.With the decrease of ambient pressure,the drainage rate and the drainage index of AEA solution bubbles increase.Interference experiments show that the liquid film thicknesses of all tested AEA solution bubbles are in micron scales.When the atmospheric pressure decreases from 101.2 to 63.1 kPa,the liquid film thicknesses of three types of AEA solutions decrease in various degrees;and film elasticities at critical thicknesses increase.Liquid film of 226S solution bubbles is the most stable,presenting as a minimum thickness variation.It should be noted that elastic coefficient of liquid film only represents the level at critical thickness,thus it can not be applied as the only evaluating indicator of bubble stability.For a type of AEA,factors affecting the stability of its bubbles under low atmospheric pressure include initial bubbles size,liquid film thickness,liquid film elasticity,ambient temperature,etc.

Simultaneous control of ferromagnetism and ferroelasticity by oxygen octahedral backbone stretching

Coexistence of ferromagnetism and ferroelasticity in a single material is an intriguing phenomenon,but has been rarely found.Here we studied both the ferromagnetism and ferroelasticity in a group of LaCoO3 films with systematically tuned atomic structures.We found that all films exhibit ferroelastic domains with four-fold symmetry and the larger domain size(higher elasticity)is always accompanied by stronger ferromagnetism.We performed synchrotron x-ray diffraction studies to investigate the backbone structure of the CoO6 octahedra,and found that both the ferromagnetism and the elasticity are simultaneously enhanced when the in-plane Co–O–Co bond angles are straightened.Therefore the study demonstrates the inextricable correlation between the ferromagnetism and ferroelasticity mediated through the octahedral backbone structure,which may open up new possibilities to develop multifunctional materials.

Mapping the antiparallel aligned domain rotation by microwave excitation

The evolution process of magnetic domains in response to external fields is crucial for the modern understanding and application of spintronics.In this study,we investigated the domain rotation in stripe domain films of varying thicknesses by examining their response to microwave excitation in four different orientations.The resonance spectra indicate that the rotation field of stripe domain film under an applied magnetic field approaches the field where the resonance mode of sample changes.The saturation field of the stripe domain film corresponds to the field where the resonance mode disappears when measured in the stripe direction parallel to the microwave magnetic field.The results are reproducible and consistent with micromagnetic simulations,providing additional approaches and techniques for comprehending the microscopic mechanisms of magnetic domains and characterizing their rotation.

具有可生物降解、细胞相容、抗菌及生物膜控制的壳聚糖磺基甜菜碱衍生物薄膜生物材料的研究

The purpose of this research was to develop a chitosan sulfobetaine(CS-SNCC)film via the solutioncasting method as a biodegradable antibacterial material for biomedical applications.Chitosan and monochloro-triazine sulfobetaine were used as the raw materials for CS-SNCC preparation,and Fourier-transform infrared(FTIR),ultraviolet–visible(UV-Vis),energy-dispersive X-ray(EDX),and Xray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)spectra were used to characterize and analyze the structure of the synthesized CS-SNCC.Furthermore,the swelling property,thermal stability,biodegradability,cytocompatibility,and antibacterial properties of the CS-SNCC film were comprehensively investigated and compared with those of the chitosan film.The results for the film’s enzymatic biodegradation behavior show that the CS-SNCC film undergoes a weight loss of 45.54%after 21 days of incubation.In addition,the CS-SNCC film effectively resists bacterial adhesion,prevents the formation of bacteria biofilms,and exhibits high antibacterial activity,with inactivation rates of 93.43%for Escherichia coli and 91.00%for Staphylococcus aureus.Moreover,the CS-SNCC film shows good cellular activity and cytocompatibility according to the cytotoxicity results.Therefore,the prepared biodegradable,cytocompatible,antibacterial,and biofilm-controlling CS-SNCC film has potential for biomedical applications.

Effects of air damping on quality factors of different probes in tapping mode atomic force microscopy

The AFM probe in tapping mode is a continuous process of energy dissipation,from moving away from to intermittent contact with the sample surfaces.At present,studies regarding the energy dissipation mechanism of this continuous process have only been reported sporadically,and there are no systematic explanations or experimental verifications of the energy dissipation mechanism in each stage of the continuous process.The quality factors can be used to characterize the energy dissipation in TM-AFM systems.In this study,the vibration model of the microcantilever beam was established,coupling the vibration and damping effects of the microcantilever beam.The quality factor of the vibrating microcantilever beam under damping was derived,and the air viscous damping when the probe is away from the sample and the air squeeze film damping when the probe is close to the sample were calculated.In addition,the mechanism of the damping effects of different shapes of probes at different tip–sample distances was analyzed.The accuracy of the theoretical simplified model was verified using both experimental and simulation methods.A clearer understanding of the kinetic characteristics and damping mechanism of the TM-AFM was achieved by examining the air damping dissipation mechanism of AFM probes in the tapping mode,which was very important for improving both the quality factor and the imaging quality of the TM-AFM system.This study’s research findings also provided theoretical references and experimental methods for the future study of the energy dissipation mechanism of micro-nano-electromechanical systems.

Three-dimensionally oriented organization of hexagonal MIL-96 microplates toward superior film microstructure

Preferential orientation control of metal—organic framework(MOF)films is advantageous for maximizing pore uniformity and minimizing grain-boundary defects.Nonetheless,the preparation of MOF films with both in-plane and out-of-plane orientations remains a grand challenge.In this study,we reported the preparation of three-dimensionally oriented MIL-96 layers through combining morphology control of MIL-96 seeds with addition of polyvinylpyrrolidone surfactants and arachidonic acids.The three-dimensionally oriented MIL-96 film was readily obtained through in-plane epitaxial growth.It is anticipated that the aforementioned protocol can be effective for obtaining diverse MOF films with a three-dimensionally oriented organization.

Mechanical and magnetocaloric adjustable properties of Fe3O4/PET deformed nanoparticle film

The flexibility of nanoparticle films is a topic of rapidly growing interest in both scientific and engineering researches due to their numerous potential applications in a broad range of wearable electronics and biomedical devices.This article presents the elucidation of the properties of nanoparticle films.Here,a flexible film is fabricated based on polyethylene terephthalate(PET)and magnetic iron oxide at the nanoscale using layer-by-layer technology.The 2D thin flexible film material can be bent at different angles from 0°to 360°.With an increase in elastic deformation angles,the magnetocaloric effect of the film gradually increases in the alternating magnetic field.The test results from a vibrating sample magnetometer and a low-frequency impedance analyzer demonstrate that the film has a good magnetic response and anisotropy.The magnetocaloric effect and magnetic induction effect are controlled by deformation,providing a new idea for the application of elastic films.It combines the flexibility of the nanoparticle PET substrate and,in the future,it may be used for skin adhesion for administration and magnetic stimulation control.

Enhanced ferroelectric and improved leakage of BFO-based thin films through increasing entropy strategy

BiFeO_(3)(BFO)has received considerable attention as a lead-free ferroelectric film due to its large theoretical remnant polariza-tion.However,BFO suffers from a large leakage current,resulting in poor ferroelectric properties.Herein,the sol-gel method was used to deposit a series of BFO-based thin films on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates,and the effects of the substitution of the elements Co,Cu,Mn(B-site)and Sm,Eu,La(A-site)on the crystal structure,ferroelectricity,and leakage current of the BFO-based thin films were invest-igated.Results confirmed that lattice distortion by X-ray diffraction can be attributed to the substitution of individual elements in the BFO-based films.Sm and Eu substitutions contribute to the lattice distortion in a pseudo-cubic structure,while La is biased toward pseudo-tet-ragonal.Piezoelectric force microscopy confirmed that reversible switching of ferroelectric domains by nearly 180°can be realized through the prepared films.The ferroelectric hysteresis loops showed that the order for the polarization contribution is as follows:Cu>Co>Mn(B-site),Sm>La>Eu(A-site).The current density voltage curves indicated that the order for leakage contribution is as follows:Mn<Cu<Co(B-site),La<Eu<Sm(A-site).Scanning electron microscopy showed that the introduction of Cu elements facilitates the formation of dense grains,and the grain size distribution statistics proved that La element promotes the reduction of grain size,leading to the increase of grain boundaries and the reduction of leakage.Finally,a Bi_(0.985)Sm_(0.045)La_(0.03)Fe_(0.96)Co_(0.02)Cu_(0.02)O_(3)(SmLa-CoCu)thin film with a qualitative leap in the remnant polarization from 25.5(Bi_(0.985)Sm_(0.075)FeO_(3))to 98.8µC/cm^(2)(SmLa-CoCu)was prepared through the syner-gistic action of Sm,La,Co,and Cu elements.The leakage current is also drastically reduced from 160 to 8.4 mA/cm^(2)at a field strength of 150 kV/cm.Thus,based on the increasing entropy strategy of chemical engineering,this study focuses on enhancing ferroelectricity and decreasing leakage current,providing a promising path for the advancement of ferroelectric devices.

Preparation of a zeolite-palladium composite membrane for hydrogen separation:Influence of zeolite film on membrane stability

With the development of hydrogen energy,palladium-based membranes have been widely used in hydrogen separation and purification.However,the poor chemical stability of palladium composite membranes limits their commercial applications.In this study,a zeolite-palladium composite membrane with a sandwich-like structure was obtained by using a TS-1 zeolite film grown on the surface of palladium membrane.The membrane microstructure was characterized by SEM and EDX.The effects of the TS-1 film on the hydrogen permeability and stability of palladium composite membrane were investigated in details.Benefited from the protection of the TS-1 zeolite film,the stability of palladium composite membrane was enhanced.The results indicate that the TS-1-Pd composite membrane was stable after eight cycles of the temperature exchange cycles between 773 K and 623 K.Especially,the loss of hydrogen permeance for TS-1-Pd composite membrane was much smaller than that of the pure palladium membrane when the membrane was tested in the presence of C3H6atmosphere.It indicated that the TS-1-Pd composite membrane had better chemical stability in comparison with pure palladium membrane,owing to its sandwich-like structure.This work provides an efficient way for the deposition of zeolite film on palladium membrane to enhance the membrane stability.

Ultrathin Limit on the Anisotropic Superconductivity of Single-Layered Cuprate Films

Exploring dimensionality effects on cuprates is important for understanding the nature of high-temperature superconductivity.By atomically layer-by-layer growth with oxide molecular beam epitaxy,we demonstrate that La_(2−x)Sr_(x)CuO_(4)(x=0.15)thin films remain superconducting down to 2 unit cells of thickness but quickly reach the maximum superconducting transition temperature at and above 4 unit cells.By fitting the critical magnetic field(μ0H_(c2)),we show that the anisotropy of the film’s superconductivity increases with decreasing film thickness,indicating that the superconductivity of the film gradually evolves from weak three-to two-dimensional character.These results are helpful to gain more insight into the nature of high-temperature superconductivity with dimensionality.

Effect of drying methods on perovskite films and solar cells

The high efficiency,solution processibility,and flexibility of perovskite solar cells make them promising candidates for the photovoltaic industry[1−8].The deposition method is one of the most critical factors that affect the performance of perovskite films.Various deposition methods have been developed to make perovskite films,including spin-coating,slotdie coating.

Effects of gallium surfactant on AlN thin films by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition

In this work, AlN films were grown using gallium (Ga) as surfactant on 4° off-axis 4H-SiC substrates via microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD). We have found that AlN growth rate can be greatly improved due to the catalytic effect of trimethyl-gallium (TMGa), but AlN crystal structure and composition are not affected. When the proportion of TMGa in gas phase was low, crystal quality of AlN can be improved and three-dimensional growth mode of AlN was enhanced with the increase of Ga source. When the proportion of TMGa in gas phase was high, two-dimensional growth mode of AlN was presented, with the increase of Ga source results in the deterioration of AlN crystal quality. Finally, employing a two-step growth approach, involving the initial growth of Ga-free AlN nucleation layer followed by Ga-assisted AlN growth, high quality of AlN film with flat surface was obtained and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) values of 415 nm AlN (002) and (102) planes were 465 and 597 arcsec.

Disorder effects in NbTiN superconducting resonators

Disordered superconducting materials like NbTiN possess a high kinetic inductance fraction and an adjustable critical temperature, making them a good choice for low-temperature detectors. Their energy gap(D), critical temperature(T_(c)),and quasiparticle density of states(QDOS) distribution, however, deviate from the classical BCS theory due to the disorder effects. The Usadel equation, which takes account of elastic scattering, non-elastic scattering, and electro–phonon coupling,can be applied to explain and describe these deviations. This paper presents numerical simulations of the disorder effects based on the Usadel equation to investigate their effects on the △, Tc, QDOS distribution, and complex conductivity of the NbTiN film. Furthermore, NbTiN superconducting resonators with coplanar waveguide(CPW) structures are fabricated and characterized at different temperatures to validate our numerical simulations. The pair-breaking parameter α and the critical temperature in the pure state T_(c)^(P) of our NbTiN film are determined from the experimental results and numerical simulations. This study has significant implications for the development of low-temperature detectors made of disordered superconducting materials.

Chemical vapor deposition for perovskite solar cells and modules

Metal halide perovskites are promising materials for solar cells because of high power conversion efficiency(PCE),tun-able bandgap,high defect tolerance,long carrier diffusion length,and low-cost fabrication[1-7].The PCE for perovskite solar cells(PSCs)reaches 26.14%for single-junction cells,29.1%for perovskite/perovskite tandem cells and 33.9%for perovskite/silicon tandem cells,being comparable to that for silicon and other thin-film solar cells[8-10].Perovskite solar cells have been made by solution methods including spin-coat-ing,blade coating and printing[11,12].

Impact of oxygen incorporation on interface optimization and defect suppression for efficiency enhancement in Cu_(2)ZnSn(S,Se)_(4)solar cells

Kesterite Cu_(2)ZnSn(S,Se)_(4)(CZTSSe)solar cells suffer from severe carrier recombination,limiting the photovoltaic performance.Unfavorable energy band alignment at the p-n junction and defective front interface are two main causes.Herein,oxygen incorporation in CZTSSe via absorber air-annealing was developed as a strategy to optimize its surface photoelectric property and reduce the defects.With optimized oxygen incorporation conditions,the carrier separation and collection behavior at the front interface of the device is improved.In particular,it is found that oxygen incorporated absorber exhibits increased band bending,larger depletion region width,and suppressed absorber defects.These indicate the dynamic factors for carrier separation become stronger.Meanwhile,the increased potential difference between grain boundaries and intra grains combined with the decreased concentration of interface deep level defect in the absorber provide a better path for carrier transport.As a consequence,the champion efficiency of CZTSSe solar cells has been improved from 9.74%to 12.04%with significantly improved open-circuit voltage after optimized air-annealing condition.This work provides a new insight for interface engineering to improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of CZTSSe devices.