Highly efficient and stable electrooxidation of methanol and ethanol on 3D Pt catalyst by thermal decomposition of In2O3 nanoshells

In this paper In2O3nanoshells have been synthesized via a facile hydrothermal approach. The nanoshells can be completely cracked into pony-size nanocubes by annealing, which are then used as a support of Pt catalyst for methanol and ethanol electrocatalytic oxidation. The prepared In2O3and supported Pt catalysts (Pt/In2O3) were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field effect scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were carried out, indicating the excellent catalytic performance for alcohol electrooxidation can be achieved on Pt/In2O3nanocatalysts due to the multiple active sites, high conductivity and a mass of microchannels and micropores for reactant diffusions arising from 3D frame structures compared with that on the Pt/C catalysts. ? 2016 Science Press

HRTEM Study of Three New Regularly Mixed-layer Structures of B_8S_6 Type in Ca-RE Fluorocarbonate Minerals

The microstructural features of clacium rare earth(Ca RE) fluorocarbonate minerals from Southwest China were studied by using selected area electron diffraction(SAED) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM). Three new regularly mixed layer structures of B 8S 6 type with long period and different stacking sequence, i.e. B 8S 6 Ⅰ, B 8S 6 Ⅱ, and B 8S 6 Ⅲ, were found in the derived polycrystal of parisite, in which their structural symmetry, cell parameters, chemical formulas of crystal and stacking models of structural unit layer, etc. were determined. The results of this study also show that these new regularly mixed layer structrues were formed by order stacking unit layer of bastnaesite(B) and synchisite(S) in varying proportion along c axis. The observation under HRTEM reveals that in the three new regularly mixed layer structures there are different distribution modes of Ce F ion layers, CO 2- 3 ion groups between the Ce F ion layers, and CO 2- 3 ion groups between Ce F and Ca 2+ ion layers, and there are some heterogeneous textures, such as disorder interlayer and stacking fault. It further proves the complexity of the crystal structure of the Ca RE fluorocarbonate minerals.

Nano-Twinning and Martensitic Transformation Behaviors in 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel During Large Tensile Deformation

The evolutions of nano-twins and martensitic transformation in 316L austenitic stainless steel during large tensile deformation were studied by electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD)technology and transmission electron microscopy(TEM)in detail.The results show that due to the low stacking fault energy of the steel,phase transformation induced plasticity(TRIP)and twinning induced plasticity(TWIP)coexist during the tensile deformation.The deformation firstly induces the formation of deformation twins,and dislocation pile-up is caused by the reduction of the dislocation mean free path(MFP)or grain refinement due to the twin boundaries,which further induces the martensitic transformation.With the increase of tensile deformation,a large number of nano-twins andα’-martensite appear,and the width of nano-twins decreases gradually,meanwhile the frequency of the intersecting deformation twins increases.The martensitic transformation can be divided into two types:γ-austenite→α’-martensite andγ-austenite→ε-martensite.α’-martensite is mainly distributed near the twin boundaries,especially at the intersection of twins,whileε-martensite and stacking faults exist in the form of transition products between the twins and the matrix.

FePO4-coated Li[Li0.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54]O2 with improved cycling performance as cathode material for Li-ion batteries

Li[Li0.2Ni0.13Coo.13Mn0.54]O2 cathode materials were synthesized by carbonate-based co-precipitation method, and then, its surface was coated by thin layers of FePO4. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, field emission scanning electron micro- scope （FESEM）, energy-dispersive spectroscopy （EDS）, and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The XRD and TEM results suggest that both the pristine and the coated materials have a hexagonal layered structure, and the FePO4 coating layer does not make any major change in the crystal structure. The FePO4-coated sample exhibits both improved initial discharge capacity and columbic efficiency compared to the pristine one. More significantly, the FePO4 coating layer has a much positive influence on the cycling perfor- mance. The FePO4-coated sample exhibits capacity reten- tion of 82 % after 100 cycles at 0.5℃ between 2.0 and 4.8 V, while only 28 % for the pristine one at the same charge-discharge condition. The electrochemical impe- dance spectroscopy （EIS） results indicate that this improved cycling performance could be ascribed to the presence of FePO4 on the surface of Li[Li0.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mno.54102 par- ticle, which helps to protect the cathode from chemical attacks by HF and thus suppresses the large increase in charge transfer resistance.