Preparation of hollow B–SiO2@TiO2 composites and their photocatalytic performances for degradation of ammonia-nitrogen and green algae in aqueous solution

Hollow B–SiO2@TiO2 composites were prepared by the wet chemical deposition method starting from TiCl4 and hollow B–SiO2 microspheres.TiO2 layers composed of anatase TiO2 nanoparticles were coated on the surfaces of the hollow B–SiO2 microspheres probably through the formation of Ti—O—Si and Ti—O—B bonds.A great number of—OH groups were also present at the TiO2 coating layers.The presence of Ti—O—Si bonds and Ti—O—B bonds resulted in the formation of defects in the TiO2 coating layers,which decreased the band gap of the TiO2 coating layers to ca.3.0 eV and endowed the TiO2 coating layers with visible light absorption performance.The buoyancy hollow B–SiO2@TiO2 composites exhibited high photocatalytic activities for the degradation of ammonia-nitrogen and green algae.The conversion of ammonia-nitrogen reached 65%when the degradation of ammonia-nitrogen(43 mg·L-1 at pH value of 8)was catalyzed by the B–SiO2@TiO2(100:10)composite under the simulated solar light irradiation at 35°C for 660 min.The green algae(5 mg·L-1)were almost completely degraded over the B–SiO@TiO2(100:20)photocatalyst under the visible light irradiation at 35°C for 510 min.

Effect of reinforcement amount, mold temperature, superheat, and mold thickness on fluidity of in-situ Al-Mg_2Si composites

In the present study, the effects of mold temperature, superheat, mold thickness, and Mg_2Si amount on the fluidity of the Al-Mg_2Si as-cast in-situ composites were investigated using the mathematical models. Composites with different amounts of Mg_2Si were fabricated, and the fluidity and microstructure of each were then analyzed. For this purpose, the experiments were designed using a central composite rotatable design, and the relationship between parameters and fluidity were developed using the response surface method. In addition, optical and scanning electron microscopes were used for microstructural observation. The ANOVA shows that the mathematical models can predict the fluidity accurately. The results show that by increasing the mold temperature from 25℃ to 200℃, superheat from 50℃ to 250℃, and thickness from 3 mm to 12 mm, the fluidity of the composites decreases, where the mold thickness is more effective than other factors. In addition, the higher amounts of Mg_2Si in the range from 15 wt.% to 25 wt.% lead to the lower fluidity of the composites. For example, when the mold temperature, superheat, and thickness are respectively 100℃, 150℃, and 7 mm, the fluidity length is changed in the range of 11.9 cm to 15.3 cm. By increasing the amount of Mg_2Si, the morphology of the primary Mg_2Si becomes irregular and the size of primary Mg_2Si is increased. Moreover, the change of solidification mode from skin to pasty mode is the most noticeable microstructural effect on the fluidity.

Fabrication and characterization of SiO_(2(f))/Si)_3N_4 composites

A silicon dioxide fiber-reinforced silicon nitride matrix （SiOJSi3N4） composite used for radomes was prepared by chemical vapor infiltration （CVI） process using the SiCl4-NH3-H2 system. The effects of the process conditions, including infiltration temperature, infiltration time, and gas flux were investigated. The energy dispersion spectra （EDS） result showed that the main elements of this composite contained Si, N, and O. The X-ray diffraction （XRD） results indicated that phases of the composite before and after treatment at 1350℃ were all amorphous. A little fiber pull-out was observed on the cross section of the composite by scan electron microscope （SEM）. As a result, the composite exhibited good thermal stability, but an appropriate interface was necessary between the fiber and the matrix.

Nanoindentation Study on Mechanical Properties of Nano-SiO2/Dental Resin Composites

The micro/nano-scale indentation tests were performed to explore the performance of bisphenol-α-glycidyl methacrylate (Bis-GMA)/triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) dental resin composites. The effect of the filling content of nano-SiO2 particles on the mechanical properties of the dental composites was studied as well. The experimental results showed that the incorporation of the nano-SiO2 particles at low concentrations (up to 10 wt.%) can apparently increase the hardness and elastic modulus of the dental rein composites. The plasticity index indicates a best elastic recovery capability at a proper amount (4 wt.%) of the nanoparticles. Combined with the infrared spectrum, the mechanical enhancement mechanisms of the dental resin composites were analyzed.

Fracture Mechanism of 3D, Five-directional Braided (SiO_2)_f /SiO_2 Composites Prepared by Silicasol-infiltration-sintering Method

Three-dimensional （3D） five-directional braided （SiO2）/SiO2 composites were prepared by silicasol-infiltration-sintering （SIS） method. The flexural properties and microstructures were studied. The flexural strength and flexural elastic modulus were found to be 73 MPa and 12 GPa, respectively. The results of stress vs deflection curve and SEM examinations revealed that the fracture mechanism of 3D, five-directional braided （SiO2）/SiO2 composite was a mixture mode of ductile and brittle. The ductile mode was attributed to the weak bonding strength of fiber/matrix at low temperature. The brittle fracture might be caused by the propagation of micro defect or crack, which existed in the as-prepared composites for the ten-cycle process.

The influence of ablation products on the ablation resistance of C/C-SiC composites and the growth mechanism of SiO_2 nanowires

Ablation under oxyacetylene torch with heat flux of 4186.8（10%kW/m2 for 20 s was performed to evaluate the ablation resistance of C/C-SiC composites fabricated by chemical vapor infiltration（CVI） combined with liquid silicon infiltration（LSI） process.The results indicated that C/C-SiC composites present a better ablation resistance than C/C composites without doped SiC.The doped SiC and the ablation products SiO2 derived from it play key roles in ablation process.Bulk quantities of SiO2 nanowires with diameter of 80 nm-150 nm and length of tens microns were observed on the surface of specimens after ablation.The growth mechanism of the SiO_2 nanowires was interpreted with a developed vapor-liquid-solid（VLS） driven by the temperature gradient.

Photocatalytic and Thermal Insulating Performances of Fiber Reinforced Hierarchical TiO_2/SiO_2 Xerogel Composites Synthesized by Ambient Drying Route

Silica( SiO_2) based aerogel/xerogel materials have been received ever-growing attentions for versatile applications. However,the widespread applications are narrowed by the inert properties,fragile and brittle natureof silica materials and cumbersome preparation processes. In this paper,titania( TiO_2) was introduced into SiO_2 matrix to form photocatalytic hybrid gels. The TiO_2/SiO_2 composites were then reinforced by the impregnation of various fibrillary reinforcements,such as glass,mullite mineral and ceramic fibers. The properties of the composites were studied systematically in terms of fiberstability,microstructure,chemical interaction and thermal conductivity. The final xerogel composites displayed improved monolithic geometry,satisfied thermal conductivity(0. 09-0. 25 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1)) and optimized photocatalytic performance(85% removal of model pollutant of methyl orange( Mo)),which could be expected to be a feasible route to multi-functional building facades in the future.

Applications of AuNRs@SiO₂Matrix Nanocomposites

Gold nanorods (AuNRs/GNR) have unique, controllable and anisotropic local surface plasmon resonance (SPR) properties, which have been widely used in biochemistry, electronics and catalysis. It is of great value and significance to study the synthesis, properties, surface modification and structural regulation of AuNRs. This paper introduces AuNRs and AuNRs@SiO2. The synthesis of AuNRs@SiO2 composite nanomaterials with quantum dots, graphene, rare earth materials and magnetic materials is described. The applications of nanocomposites in optics, biomedicine and biosensors are also discussed. The future development of nanocomposites is proposed.

20wt% SiO_2/Al-Mg复合材料的界面反应及其微结构

采用粉末冶金法制备了20wt%SiO2/Al-Mg复合材料。研究了SiO2和基体元素Al,Mg反应机制,研究表明:在原SiO2颗粒内,形成MgAl2O4,MgO,Mg2Si和少量Al和Si。MgAl2O4呈不规则形状,而且MgAl2O4往往和Al相邻;MgO和Mg2Si形成片层状共析体;经620℃烧结30min,SiO2被完全反应掉。反应生成物Si多数被排到Al基体中;原Al-Mg基体中主要物相为:Al,Mg2Si和Si,Mg2Si颗粒的尺寸小于0.2μm。原Al-Mg基体中,单质Mg已不存在,Mg反应形成Mg2Si。

SiO_2/Al-Mg复合材料的界面反应

对粉末冶金法制备的SiO2／Al-Mg复合材料的显微组织、物相组成及反应过程进行了研究，发现10％～20％SiO2-Al-Mg复合材料的最终物相均为MgAlO4、MgO、Mg2Si、Si和Al．反应时Al、Mg由SiO2颗粒外向颗粒内扩散，SiO2被夺去氧，Si被置换到原SiO2颗粒外．总结了颗粒SiO2与Al-Mg反应的热力学，推测了颗粒内外的优先反应．

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.

A phase inversion based sponge-like polysulfonamide/SiO_2 composite separator for high performance lithium-ion batteries

In this work,a sponge-like polysulfonamide(PSA)/SiO_2 composite membrane is unprecedentedly prepared by the phase inversion method,and successfully demonstrated as a novel separator of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs).Compared to the commercial polypropylene(PP) separator,the sponge-like PSA/SiO_2 composite possesses better physical and electrochemical properties,such as higher porosity,ionic conductivity,thermal stability and flame retarding ability.The LiCoO_2/Li half-cells using the sponge-like composite separator demonstrate superior rate capability and cyclability over those using the commercial PP separator.Moreover,the sponge-like composite separator can ensure the normal operation of LiCoO_2/Li half-cell at an extremely high temperature of 90 °C,while the commercial PP separator cannot.All these encouraging results suggest that this phase inversion based sponge-like PSA/SiO_2 composite separator is really a promising separator for high performance LIBs.

Preparation of Supermacroporous Composite Cryogel Embedded with SiO_2 Nanoparticles

Supermacroporous composite cryogels embedded with SiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by radical cryogenic copolymerization of the reactive monomer mixture of acrylamide（AAm） and N,N-methylene-bis-acrylamide（MBAAm） containing SiO2 nanoparticles（mass ratios of nanoparticles to the monomer AAm from 0.01 to 0.08） under the freezing-temperature variation condition in glass columns.The properties of these composite cryogels were measured.The height equivalent to theoretical plate（HETP） of the cryogel beds at different liquid flow rates was determined by residence time distribution（RTD） using tracer pulse-response method.The composite cryogel matrix embedded with the mass fraction of SiO2 nanoparticles of 0.02 presented the best properties and was employed in the following graft polymerization.Chromatographic process of lysozyme in the composite cryogel grafted with 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid（AMPSA） was carried out to evaluate the protein breakthrough and elution characteristics.The chromatography can be carried out at relatively high superficial velocity,i.e.,15 cm·min-1,indicating the satisfactory mechanical strength due to the embedded nanoparticles.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-Mg_2Si composite fabricated in-situ by vibrating cooling slope

An innovative semisolid technique termed as vibrating cooling slope(VCS)has been applied to producing in-situ Al-25%Mg2Si(mass fraction)composite.The molten Al-16.5Mg-9.4%Si(mass fraction)alloy with 100°C superheat was poured on the surface of an inclined copper plate(set at 45°inclined angle)while it was vibrated at a frequency of 40 Hz and an amplitude of 400μm.After travelling the length of 40 cm on the slope,the resultant semisolid alloy was cast into a steel mold.For the purpose of comparison,reference composite samples were made by gravity casting(GC)and conventionally still cooling slope casting(CS)methods using the same alloy under identical conditions.The samples were hot extruded at 500°C.It was concluded that the size of Mg2Si particles was decreased by about 50%and 70%for the CS and VCS produced samples respectively when compared to that of the GC produced sample.Despite of their higher porosity contents,both the as-cast and hot-extruded VCS processed samples exhibited higher hardness,shear yield stress(SYS)and ultimate shear strength(USS)values as compared with their GC produced counterparts.These results were attributed to the refined and modified microstructure obtained via this newly developed technique.

Effect of catalyst on structure of(PEO)_8LiClO_4-SiO_2 composite polymer electrolyte films

(PEO)8LiClO4-SiO2 composite polymer electrolytes(CPEs)were prepared by in-situ reaction,in which ethyl-orthosilicate(TEOS)was catalyzed by HCl and NH3.H2O,respectively.The ionic conductivity,the contact angle and the morphology of inorganic particles in the CPEs were investigated by AC impedance spectra,contact angle method and TEM.The conductivities of acid-catalyzed CPE and alkali-catalyzed CPE are 2.2×10-5and 1.1×10-5S/cm respectively at 30℃.The results imply that the catalyst plays an important role in the structure of in-situ preparation of SiO2,and influences the surface energy and conductivity of CPE films directly.Meanwhile,the ionic conductivity is related to the surface energy.

The effects of radiation damage on power VDMOS devices with composite SiO_2-Si_3N_4 films

Total dose effects and single event effects on radiation-hardened power vertical double-diffusion metal oxide semiconductor（VDMOS） devices with composite SiO2-Si3N4 film gates are investigated.The relationships among the important electrical parameters of the samples with different thickness SiO2-Si3N4 films,such as threshold voltage,breakdown voltage,and on-state resistance in accumulated dose,are discussed.The total dose experiment results show that the breakdown voltage and the on-state resistance barely change with the accumulated dose.However,the relationships between the threshold voltages of the samples and the accumulated dose are more complex,and not only positively drift,but also negatively drift.At the end of the total dose experiment,we select the group of samples which have the smaller threshold voltage shift to carry out the single event effect studies.We find that the samples with appropriate thickness ratio SiO2-Si3N4 films have a good radiation-hardening ability.This method may be useful in solving both the SEGR and the total dose problems with the composite SiO2-Si3N4 films.

Microstructure and hardness of Mg-based composites reinforced with Mg_2Si particles

Magnesium powders were mechanically alloyed with SiO2 powder particles having different particle sizes using nigh-energy ball milling techniques under Ar atmosphere for 1 h. The powders were consolidated with cold pressing under 560 MPa. They were then sintered at 550℃ for 45 min under Ar atmosphere. The composites obtained on the Mg-SiO2 system were investigated using the Archimedes principle, a differential scanning calorimeter, X-ray diffraction, optic microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. For the mechanically alloyed powders, the solid-state reaction of the synthesis of Mg2Si and MgO progressed further during sintering of the materials. The results showed that the strengthening mechanisms were dependent on dispersion hardening of fine Mg2Si and MgO particulates dispersed homogeneously in the matrix. Mg-

Influence of heat treatment on microstructures and micro-hardness of n-SiO2/Ni composite coating

The n-SiO2/Ni composite electro-brush plating coating was prepared on the 1045 steel substrate. SEM and TEM were utilized to analyze the surface and cross-section morphologies or the microstructures of the composite coating before and after heat treatment, as well as a micro-hardness tester was used to measure the micro-hardness before and after heat treatment. The results show that the entrance of nano SiO2 particles into composite coating makes the micro-hardness higher. After heat treatment, due to the obstruction to growth of Ni crystals from nano particles, the composite coating still possesses a higher micro-hardness than that of common Ni-base coating.

Preparation of Al_2O_3-SiO_2-TiO_2-ZrO_2 Composite Ceramic Membranes by Sol-Gel Method

Al 2O 3-SiO 2-TiO 2-ZrO 2 supported membranes were prepar ed by Sol-Gel method. These composite ceramic membranes are level, even and no macro crack. There exist several crystalline phases such as Al 2O 3, TiO 2(a natase), Al 2SiO 5, and ZrO 2 in these membranes. Changing the molar ratio of Al∶Si∶Ti∶Zr,the kinds and content of crystal phases of composite membranes could be different, which may lead to a variety of microstructure of membranes. The surface nanoscale topography and microstructure of membranes were investiga ted by XRD,SEM,AFM,EPMA. The effects of additives and heat treatments on the sur face nanoscale topography and microstructure of composite ceramic membranes were also analyzed.

Preparation and Characterization of Tetracomponent ZnO/SiO₂/SnO₂/TiO₂Composite Nanofibers by Electrospinning

[Zn(CH3COO)2 + PVP]/[C2H5O)4Si + PVP]/[SnCl4 + PVP]/[Ti(OC4H9)4 + CH3COOH + PVP] precursor composite fibers have been fabricated through self-made electrospinning equipment via electrospinning tech-nique. ZnO/SiO2/SnO2/TiO2 composite nanofibers were obtained by calcination of the relevant precursor composite fibers. The samples were characterized by thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). TG-DTA analysis reveals that solvents, organic compounds and inorganic in the precursor composite fibers are decomposed and volatilized totally, and the mass of the samples kept constant when sintering temperature was above 900?C, and the total mass loss percentage is 88%. XRD results show that the precursor composite fibers are amorphous in structure, and pure phase ZnO/SiO2/SnO2/TiO2 com-posite nanofibers are obtained by calcination of the relevant precursor composite fibers. FTIR analysis manifests that pure inorganic oxides are formed. SEM analysis indicates that the width of the precursor composite fibers is ca. 1.485 ± 0.043 μm. The width of the ZnO/SiO2/SnO2/TiO2 composite nanofibers is ca. 1145.098 ± 68.093 nm.