The High Surface Ratio Micro-MoS₂Grain Composed of MoS₂Nanosheet Prepared with One-Step Hydrothermal Synthesis

Micro molybdenum disulfide was prepared with one-step hydrothermal method;the influence of reactant concentration and temperature on the surface ratio of micro-MoS2 grain was investigated. Raman spectroscopy (Raman), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the structure, composition and morphology of MoS2. The results show that micro-MoS2 grains were synthesized with one-step hydrothermal synthesis, and the morphology of micro-MoS2 grains is like flower and sphere. The SEM figures indicate that the surface ratio of micro-MoS2 grains is different and also show that the surface ratio of micro-MoS2 grains can be improved by regulating reactant concentration and temperature. This research showed a method to improve the surface ratio of micro-MoS2 grains.

Plasma induced grain boundaries to boost electrochemical reduction of CO_(2)to formate

Bismuth-based catalysts are highly promising for the electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction(eCO_(2)RR)to formate product.However,achieving high activity and selectivity towards formate and ensuring long-term stability remains challenging.This work reports the oxygen plasma inducing strategy to construct the abundant grain boundaries of Bi/BiO_x on ultrathin two-dimensional Bi nanosheets.The oxygen plasma-treated Bi nanosheet(OP-Bi)exhibits over 90%Faradaic efficiency(FE)for formate at a wide potential range from-0.5 to-1.1 V,and maintains a great stability catalytic performance without significant decay over 30 h in flow cell.Moreover,membrane electrode assembly(MEA)device with OPBi as catalyst sustains the robust current density of 100 mA cm^(-2)over 50 h,maintaining a formate FE above 90%.In addition,rechargeable Zn-CO_(2)battery presents the peak power density of1.22 mW cm^(-2)with OP-Bi as bifunctional catalyst.The mechanism experiments demonstrate that the high-density grain boundaries of OP-Bi provide more exposed active sites,faster electron transfer capacity,and the stronger intrinsic activity of Bi atoms.In situ spectroscopy and theo retical calculations further elucidate that the unsaturated Bi coordination atoms between the grain boundaries can effectively activate CO_(2)molecules through elongating the C-O bond,and reducing the formation energy barrier of the key intermediate(^(*)OCOH),thereby enhancing the catalytic performance of eCO_(2)RR to formate product.

Effect of Al_2Ca intermetallic compound addition on grain refinement of AZ31 magnesium alloy

The Al2Ca intermetallic compound was prepared by melting process in a vacuum induction furnace. And the A12Ca compound was added in as-cast AZ31 alloys for grain refinement. The effect of its additional levels on grain refinement of as-cast AZ31 alloy was investigated and the mechanism of the grain refinement was discussed. The results reveal that the addition of 1.1% Al2Ca （mass fraction） decreases the average grain size of as-cast AZ31 alloy from 354 to 198 μm. And the thermal stability of the grains refined by Al2Ca is superior. The grain refining mechanism is attributed to the combined effects of solute and heterogeneous nucleation from the Al2Ca.

Cr_(2)O_(3)掺杂UO_(2)芯块晶粒生长动力学研究

本工作采用恒速升温和等温烧结实验方法研究了不同Cr_(2)O_(3)掺杂量UO_(2)芯块的晶粒生长动力学。结果表明,掺杂少量Cr_(2)O_(3)可以提高UO_(2)烧结速度,降低烧结温度。1500~1750℃下烧结,添加0.1wt%、0.5wt%Cr_(2)O_(3)均可以加速芯块致密化进程,添加Cr_(2)O_(3)后,烧结温度可以降低至1600℃,而标准UO_(2)烧结温度需在1700℃以上。掺杂Cr_(2)O_(3)可以明显促进UO_(2)晶粒生长,Cr_(2)O_(3)掺杂量越多,温度越高,UO_(2)晶粒生长速度越快。掺杂0.1wt%Cr_(2)O_(3)的UO_(2)芯块的晶粒生长动力学符合3次方模型,晶粒生长指数n=3,激活能Q=454.2 kJ/mol,掺杂0.5wt%Cr_(2)O_(3)的UO_(2)芯块的晶粒生长动力学符合2.2次方模型,晶粒生长指数n=2.2,激活能Q=371.3 kJ/mol。

Sentinel-2遥感影像在盘锦水稻米质监测中的应用研究

本研究基于水稻孕穗期、抽穗期、灌浆期和成熟期4个生育期的Sentinel-2遥感数据,分析各生育期内卫星遥感光谱参数与稻米品质指标的关系,建立基于各生育期卫星光谱信息的水稻品质指标预测模型。将5种稻米品质指标分别与4个生育期内的光谱参数进行皮尔逊相关性分析,结果表明,5项品质指标在4个生育期内均与光谱参数有不同程度相关性。然后筛选出相关性效果显著的光谱参数,用于建立各品质指标的预测方程,建模结果表明,基于卫星遥感光谱信息解释率由大到小的稻米品质指标依次是精米率>长宽比>蛋白质含量>直链淀粉含量>糙米率;卫星遥感光谱反演稻米各品质指标所在的最佳生育期不同,糙米率和精米率的最佳生育期为抽穗期,其建模决定系数(Coefficient of Determination,R^(2))分别为0.461和0.893;长宽比的最佳生育期为成熟期,R^(2)为0.878;直链淀粉含量和蛋白质含量的最佳生育期为灌浆期,R^(2)分别为0.646和0.647;基于卫星遥感光谱信息的稻米品质模型验证效果较好,解释率为51%~74%。可见,利用卫星遥感技术能够实现大范围水稻品质指标定量监测与评估。

Rice-duck co-culture benefits grain 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline accumulation and quality and yield enhancement of fragrant rice

Rice-duck co-culture is an integrated farming technology that benefits rice production, grain quality, and ecological sustainability in paddy fields. However, little is known about the effects of rice-duck co-culture on enzyme activity involved in the biosynthesis of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP), the volatile that gives fragrant rice its' distinctive and sought-after aroma. The present study aimed to examine the influence of rice-duck co-culture on the photosynthesis, yield, grain quality, rice aroma, and the enzymes involved in 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline biosynthesis in the cultivar Meixiangzhan 2 during the early and late rice growing seasons of 2016 in Guangzhou, China. We compared the rice grown in paddy fields with and without ducks. We found that rice-duck co-culture not only improved the yield and quality of fragrant rice grain, but also promoted the precursors of 2-AP biosynthesis formation and 2-AP accumulation in the grain. Grain 2-AP content in rice-duck co-culture was noticeably increased with 9.60% and 20.81% in early and late seasons, respectively. Proline and pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid (P5C) (precursors of 2-AP biosynthesis) and the activity of enzymes such as proline dehydrogenase (ProDH), ornithine aminotransferase (OAT) and Δ1 pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid synthetase (P5CS) were all improved by 10.15%–12.99%, 32.91%–47.75%, 17.81%–26.71%, 6.25%–21.78%, and 10.58%–38.87% under rice-duck co-culture in both seasons, respectively. Overall, our results suggest that rice-duck co-culture is an environmentally-friendly and sustainable approach to improving rice aroma and grain quality of fragrant rice.

Fine mapping of GS2, a dominant gene for big grain rice

Grain shape as a major determinant of rice yield and quality is widely believed to be controlled by quantitative trait loci(QTL). We have identified a novel gene 'GS2' to largely regulate grain length and width in rice. The GS2 allele in the big-grain rice line ‘CDL’functioned in a dominant manner. In the present study, we employed a chromosome walking strategy in the residual heterozygous lines from recombinant inbred population between cultivar 'R1126' and CDL, and located the GS2 gene in an interval of ~33.2 kb flanked by marker GL2-35-1 and GL2-12 in the long arm of rice chromosome 2. According to genome annotations, three putative gene loci, LOC_Os02g47280, LOC_Os02g47290 and LOC_Os02g47300, exist in this candidate region. In addition, allelic analysis with previously reported genes demonstrated that GS2 was novel for regulating rice grain shape. These results will help promote the cloning and functional characterization of the GS2 gene and further develop linked markers to be used in marker-assisted breeding.

Grain Size and Wettability of TiO_2/SiO_2 Photocatalytic Composite Thin Filing

The uniform transparent TiO2/SiO2 photocatalytic composite thin films are prepared by sol-gel method on the soda lime glass substrates, and characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), BET surface area, FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that the addition of SiO2 to TiO2 thin films can suppress the grain growth of TiO2 crystal, increase the hydroxyl content on the surface of TiO2 films, lower the contact angle for water on TiO, films and enhance the hydrophilic property of TiO2 films. The super-hydrophilic TiO2/SiO2 photocatalytic composite thin films with the contact angle of 0((o) under bar) are obtained by the addition of 10%-20% SiO2 in mole fraction.

Grain refinement of Mg-Al alloys inoculated by MgAl_(2)O_(4)powder

As a potent nucleating substrate forα-Mg grain,MgAl_(2)O_(4) powder was used to inoculate the Mg-Al melt in this study.The effects of MgAl_(2)O_(4)amount,holding time and Al content on the grain size and grain refining ratio of the inoculated Mg-Al alloys are systematically investigated.The results show that the minimum grain size of Mg-3Al alloy is achieved by adding 2wt.%MgAl_(2)O_(4)powder and this alloy exhibits higher grain refining ratio than Mg-5Al and Mg-8Al alloys.The crystallographic misfit calculation indicates the wellmatching and possible orientation relationships(ORs)betweenα-Mg and MgAl_(2)O_(4).Among these predicted ORs,[10–10]α−Mg//[110]MgAl2O4 in(0002)α−Mg//(1–13)MgAl2O4 possesses the smallest misfit,i.e.,2.34%(fr).Both results of the experiment and crystallographic calculation demonstrate that the grain refinement of Mg-Al alloys is attributed to the MgAl_(2)O_(4)particles acting as the heterogeneous nucleation substrates forα-Mg grains.

A new gain-of-function OsGS2/GRF4 allele generated by CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing increases rice grain size and yield

Grain size is one of the most important factors affecting rice grain quality and yield,and attracts great attention from molecular biologists and breeders.In this study,we engineered a CRISPR/Cas9 system targeting the miR396 recognition site of the rice GS2 gene,which encodes growth-regulating factor 4(OsGRF4)and regulates multiple agronomic traits including grain size,grain quality,nitrogen use efficiency,abiotic stress response,and seed shattering.In contrast to most previous genome editing efforts in which indel mutations were chosen to obtain null mutants,a mutant named GS2^(E) carrying an in-frame 6-bp deletion and 1-bp substitution within the miR396-targeted sequence was identified.GS2^(E) plants showed increased expression of GS2 in consistent with impaired repression by miR396.As expected,the gain-of-function GS2^(E) mutant exhibited multiple beneficial traits including increased grain size and yield and bigger grain length/width ratio.Thousand grain weight and grain yield per plant of GS2^(E) plants were increased by 23.5%and 10.4%,respectively.These improved traits were passed to hybrids in a semidominant way,suggesting that the new GS2^(E) allele has great potential in rice improvement.Taken together,we report new GS2 germplasm and describe a novel gene-editing strategy that can be widely employed to improve grain size and yield in rice.This trait-improvement strategy could be applied to other genes containing miRNA target sites,in particular the conserved miR396-GRF/GIF module that governs plant growth,development and environmental response.

Effect of Process Parameters on Morphology and Grain Refinement Efficiency of TiAl_3 and TiB_2 in Alumimum Casting

This paper presents the effects of different process parameters in producing Al-STi-1B grain refiner,i.e.various sequences and reaction time,on grain refinement efficiency of aluminum castings.It was found that different process parameters resulted in different morphology and size distribution of TiAl-3 and TiB-2 in grain refiner. The experiment was carried out by adding KBF-4 and K-2TiF-6 to molten aluminum.The melting temperature was controlled at 800℃in an electric resistance furnace.Three different sequences of KBF-4 and K-2TiF-6 additions were applied,i.e.,adding KBF-4 before K-2TiF-6,adding K-2TiF-4 before KBF-4 and mixing both KBF-4 and K-2TiF-6 before adding to molten aluminum.Three different holding time at 1 min,30 min and 60 min were applied.The results showed that no significant difference of morphology and size distribution was found by varying three different sequences.Whereas,the different holding time provided major differences in both morphology and size distribution,which are technically expectable from diffusion and agglomeration between particles resulting in larger particle size and wider range of size distribution of TiAI3 and TiB2.If the reaction time was longer than 30 rain,morphology of both TiAl-3 and TiB-2 became too large.If the reaction time was too short,less reaction between TiAl-3 and TiB2 to form would be obtained.For grain refinement efficiency, it was found that mixing KBF-4 and K-2TiF-6 before adding to molten aluminum with a holding time of 30 min resulted in best grain refinement efficiency.

Tandem catalysis on adjacent active motifs of copper grain boundary for efficient CO_(2) electroreduction toward C2 products

Copper (Cu) is a special electrocatalyst for CO_(2) reduction reaction (CO_(2)RR) to multi-carbon products.Experimentally introducing grain boundaries (GBs) into Cu-based catalysts is an efficient strategy to improve the selectivity of C^(2+) products.However,it is still elusive for the C^(2+) product generation on Cu GBs due to the complex active sites.In this work,we found that the tandem catalysis pathway on adjacent active motifs of Cu GB is responsible for the enhanced activity for C^(2+)production by first principles calculations.By electronic structure analysis shows,the d-band center of GB site is close to the Fermi level than Cu(100) facet,the Cu atomic sites at grain boundary have shorter bond length and stronger bonding with*CO,which can enhance the adsorption of*CO at GB sites.Moreover,CO_(2)protonation is more favorable on the region Ⅲ motif (0.84 e V) than at Cu(100) site (1.35 e V).Meanwhile,the region Ⅱ motif also facilitate the C–C coupling (0.72 e V) compared to the Cu(100) motif (1.09 e V).Therefore,the region Ⅲ and Ⅱ motifs form a tandem catalysis pathway,which promotes the C^(2+)selectivity on Cu GBs.This work provides new insights into CO_(2)RR process.

Grain Yield, Quality and 2-Acetyl-1-Pyrroline of Fragrant Rice in Response to Different Planting Seasons in South China

Climate conditions is an important factor affected the fragrant rice growth and development.In order to study the effects of different planting seasons on fragrant rice performance in South China,present study was conducted with three planting seasons(early season(April to July),middle season(June to September)and late season(August to November))and three fragrant rice cultivars,‘Basmati-385’,‘Meixiangzhan-2’and‘Xiangyaxiangzhan’.The results showed that the highest grain yield and grain 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline(2-AP,key component of fragrant rice aroma)content were both recorded in late season treatment while the fragrant rice in middle season treatment produced the lowest grain yield,grain filling percentage,1000-grain weight and gain 2-AP content.The highest contents of precursors(proline,pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid and 1-pyrro-line)which related to 2-AP biosynthesis were recorded in late season treatment compared with early season treatment and middle season treatment.The highest activities of enzymes(proline dehydrogenase,pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid synthetase and ornithine transaminase)which involved in 2-AP biosynthesis were also observed in late season treatment.Moreover,the fragrant rice cultivars in late season possessed the lowest chalk rice rate,chalkiness as well as the highest brown rice rate,head rice and protein content.Thus,the optimal season for fragrant rice production in South China is the late season.

Doping Effect on the Grain Growth of Spinel LiMn_2O_4 Prepared by Sol-Gel Methods

The cathode-active materials, Li1＋yMxMn2-xO4 （M = Al, Co, Ni, Zn, y = 0.02, x = 0.02） powder, were synthesized by sol-gel method using LiOH, Mn（NO3）2 as the starting materials, citric acid as a carrier and Al（NO3）3·9H2O or Co（NO3）2·6H2O or Ni（NO3）2·6H2O or Zn（NO3）2·6H2O as dopants. The influence of different doping elements on the structural properties of the as-prepared samples was investigated by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, infrared （IR） spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. X-ray diffraction patterns of the prepared samples were identified as the spinel structure with space group Fd3m. The grain size increases gradually as the sintering temperature rises and corresponding activation energies for the grain growth have been estimated using Arrhenius’ empirical relation.

Epoxiconazole Improved Photosynthesis,Yield Formation,Grain Quality and 2-Acetyl-1-Pyrroline Biosynthesis of Fragrant Rice

Epoxiconazole is a triazole compound.However,the effects of epoxiconazole on crop productivity and quality were rarely reported.In this study,we investigated the effects of epoxiconazole application on yield formation,grain quality attributes,and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline(2-AP)content in fragrant rice.A three-year field experiment was carried out with a fragrant rice variety,Meixiangzhan 2.At the heading stage,0,0.02,0.04,0.08,0.16 and 0.32 g/L epoxiconazole solutions were foliar applied to fragrant rice plants,respectively.The results showed that epoxiconazole application significantly increased grain yield,seed-setting rate and 1000-grain weight.Chlorophyll content and net photosynthetic rate of fragrant rice during the grain-filling stage significantly increased due to epoxiconazole application.Foliar application of epoxiconazole at 0.08 g/L increased grain protein content and decreased both chalky rice rate and chalkiness area ratio of fragrant rice.Epoxiconazole also substantially increased grain 2-AP content by inducing the regulation in contents of related synthetic precursors,including proline,pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid,Δ1-pyrroline and methylglyoxal.Overall,foliar application of epoxiconazole could be used for the improvement in grain yield,grain quality and 2-AP content in fragrant rice production when applied concentration at 0.08-0.32 g/L.Our findings provided the new roles of epoxiconazole in crop production.

Bismuth nanosheets with rich grain boundaries for efficient electroreduction of CO_(2)to formate under high pressures

Electrochemical CO_(2)reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR)driven by sustainable energy has emerged as an attractive route to achieve the target of carbon neutral.Formate is one of the most economically viable products,and electrocatalytic CO_(2)RR to formate is a promising technology.High-pressure H-cell electrolyzer is easy to operate and allows high CO_(2)solubility for realizing high current density,but the design of highly efficient catalysts for working under high CO_(2)pressures remains challenging.Bismuth-based catalysts exhibit high formate selectivity,but suffer from limited activity.Here,we report a high-performance catalyst,which is derived from BiPO_(4)nanopolyhedrons during electrocatalytic CO_(2)RR to formate in neutral solution under high CO_(2)pressures.A high partial current density of formate(534 mA cm^(−2))and formate formation rate(9.9 mmol h^(−1) cm^(−2))with a formate Faradaic efficiency of 90%have been achieved over BiPO_(4)-derived catalyst at an applied potential of−0.81 V vs.RHE under 3.0 MPa CO_(2)pressure.We discover that BiPO_(4)nanopolyhedrons evolve into metallic Bi nanosheets with rich grain boundaries in electrocatalytic CO_(2)RR under high CO_(2)pressures,and the grain boundaries of the BiPO_(4)-derived catalyst play a vital role in promoting electrocatalytic CO_(2)RR to formate.Our theoretical studies reveal that the charge redistribution occurs at the grain boundaries of Bi surface,and this promotes CO_(2)activation and increases HCOO^(*)intermediate stability,thus making the pathway for CO_(2)RR to formate more selective and energy-favorable.This work not only demonstrates a highly efficient catalyst for CO_(2)RR to formate but also discovers a unique feature of catalyst evolution under high CO_(2)pressures.

Effects of in-situ ZrB_2 particle on grain refinement of ZrB_2/AZ91D magnesium matrix composite

In-situ ZrB2/AZ91D magnesium matrix composite was successfully synthesized with AI/K2ZrF6＋NH4BF4 by means of Direct Melt Reaction. The fabricated ZrB2/AZ91D magnesium matrix composite through direct melt mixing method was investigated. Results from X-ray diffraction （XRD） and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDS） confirmed the existence of ZrB2 particles in the AZ91D alloy, and most ZrB2 particles were in the size range of just several microns, some even to 100 nm. The cast specimens were studied through corrosion testing and heat treatment. The average grain size of AZ91D decreased markedly from about 250 pm to 50 IJm. In addition, the shape and size of the ,β-MglTAI12 phase as well as the morphologies of primary a-Mg in the magnesium matrix composite were greatly changed. The network structure of the β-MglTAI12 phase was broken into small blocks and the size of a-Mg decreased significantly.

Grain refinement impact on the mechanical properties and wear behavior of Mg-9Gd-3Y-2Zn-0.5Zr alloy after decreasing temperature reciprocating upsetting-extrusion

Based on the deforming technique of severe plastic deformation(SPD), the grain refinement of a Mg-9Gd-3Y-2Zn-0.5Zr alloy treated with decreasing temperature reciprocating upsetting-extrusion(RUE) and its influence on the mechanical properties and wear behavior of the alloy were studied. The RUE process was carried out for 4 passes in total, starting at 0 ℃ and decreasing by 10 ℃ for each pass. The results showed that as the number of RUE passes increased, the grain refinement effect was obvious, and the second phase in the alloy was evenly distributed. Room temperature tensile properties of the alloy and the deepening of the RUE degree showed a positive correlation trend, which was due to the grain refinement, uniform distribution of the second phase and texture weakening. And the microhardness of the alloy showed that the microhardness of RUE is the largest in 2 passes. The change in microhardness was the result of dynamic competition between the softening effect of DRX and the work hardening effect. In addition, the wear resistance of the alloy showed a positive correlation with the degree of RUE under low load conditions. When the applied load was higher, the wear resistance of the alloy treated with RUE decreased compared to the initial state alloy. This phenomenon was mainly due to the presence of oxidative wear on the surface of the alloy, which could balance the positive contribution of severe plastic deformation to wear resistance to a certain extent.

Identification of QTLs for grain size and characterization of the beneficial alleles of grain size genes in large grain rice variety BL129

Grain size is one of the most important agronomic components of grain yield. Grain length, width and thickness are controlled by multiple quantitative trait loci （QTLs）. To understand genetic basis of large grain shape and explore the beneficial alleles for grain size improvement, we perform QTL analysis using an F2 population derived from a cross between the japonica variety Beilu 129 （BL129, wide and thick grain） and the elite indica variety Huazhan （HZ, narrow and long grain）. A total number of eight major QTLs are detected on three different chromosomes. QTLs for grain width （qGW）, grain thickness （qGT）, brown grain width （qBGW）, and brown grain thickness （qBGT） explained 77.67, 36.24, 89.63, and 39.41% of total phenotypic variation, respectively. The large grain rice variety BL129 possesses the beneficial alleles of GW2 and qSW5/ GW5, which have been known to control grain width and weight, indicating that the accumulation of the beneficial alleles causes large grain shape in BL129. Further results reveal that the rare gw2 allele from BL129 increases grain width, thickness and weight of the elite indica variety Huazhan, which is used as a parental line in hybrid rice breeding. Thus, our findings will help breeders to carry out molecular design breeding on rice grain size and shape.

大晶粒UO_(2)燃料裂变气体释放行为相场模拟研究

为预测大晶粒UO_(2)燃料中裂变气体的释放行为,从而为事故容错燃料的发展提供支持,本文采用相场模型,对裂变气体在UO_(2)多晶微观结构中的释放行为进行了模拟.该模型采用一组耦合的Cahn-Hilliard方程与Allen-Cahn方程,用守恒场变量表示裂变气体与空位的分布,以及用序参量区分气泡相与基质相.该模型重点考察了不同晶粒尺寸、不同温度条件与扩散系数对裂变气体释放行为产生的影响,展现了气泡的形核、生长、融合等行为,得到了一定程度燃耗深度下燃料的孔隙度、晶界处气泡覆盖率、气泡平均半径等模拟结果.结果表明,温度与扩散系数对孔隙度、晶界处气泡覆盖率的影响较为显著,在扩散系数较大时,晶粒尺寸也会对裂变气体释放行为产生较大影响,扩散系数较小时,晶粒尺寸的影响则不明显.此外,通过该模型得出的高燃耗深度下裂变气体气泡分布状况与实验结果也较为符合,该模型能较好地预测大晶粒UO_(2)裂变气体释放行为.