Cu_(3)P nanoparticles confined in nitrogen/phosphorus dual-doped porous carbon nanosheets for efficient potassium storage

Immobilizing primary electroactive nanomaterials in porous carbon matrix is an effective approach for boosting the electrochemical performance of potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) because of the synergy among functional components. Herein, an integrated hybrid architecture composed of ultrathin Cu_(3)P nanoparticles (~20 nm) confined in porous carbon nanosheets (Cu_(3)P⊂NPCSs) as a new anode material for PIBs is synthesized through a rational self-designed self-templating strategy. Benefiting from the unique structural advantages including more active heterointerfacial sites, intimate and stable electrical contact, effectively relieved volume change, and rapid K^(+) ion migration, the Cu_(3)P⊂NPCSs indicate excellent potassium-storage performance involving high reversible capacity, exceptional rate capability, and cycling stability. Moreover, the strong adsorption of K^(+) ions and fast potassium-ion reaction kinetics in Cu_(3)P⊂NPCSs is verified by the theoretical calculation investigation. Noted, the intercalation mechanism of Cu_(3)P to store potassium ions is, for the first time, clearly confirmed during the electrochemical process by a series of advanced characterization techniques.

Square concrete columns strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced plastics sheets at low temperatures

Twenty-one square concrete columns were constructed and tested. The testing results indicate that bonded carbon fiber reinforced plastics(CFRP) sheets can be used to increase the strength and improve the serviceability of damaged concrete columns at low temperatures. The failure of the specimens,in most cases,takes place within the middle half of the columns. And the failure of strengthened columns is sudden and explosive. The CFRP sheets increase both the axial load capacity and the ultimate concrete compressive strain of the columns. The ultimate loads of strengthened columns at-10,0 and 10 ℃ increase averagely by 9.09%,6.63% and 17.83%,respectively,as compared with those of the control specimens. The axial compressive strength of strengthened columns is related to the curing temperatures. The improvement of axial compressive strength decreases with reducing temperature,and when the temperature drops to a certain value,the improvement increases with falling temperature.

Stress and buckling analysis of a thick-walled micro sandwich panel with a flexible foam core and carbon nanotube reinforced composite (CNTRC) face sheets

In this paper,the stresses and buckling behaviors of a thick-walled mi-cro sandwich panel with a flexible foam core and carbon nanotube reinforced composite(CNTRC)face sheets are considered based on the high-order shear deformation theory(HSDT)and the modified couple stress theory(MCST).The governing equations of equi-librium are obtained based on the total potential energy principle.The effects of various parameters such as the aspect ratio,elastic foundation,temperature changes,and volume fraction of the canbon nanotubes(CNTs)on the critical buckling loads,normal stress,shear stress,and deflection of the thick-walled micro cylindrical sandwich panel consider-ing different distributions of CNTs are examined.The results are compared and validated with other studies,and showing an excellent compatibility.CNTs have become very use-ful and common candidates in sandwich structures,and they have been extensively used in many applications including nanotechnology,aerospace,and micro-structures.This paper also extends further applications of reinforced sandwich panels by providing the modified equations and formulae.

Different Charging-Induced Modulations of Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital Energies in Fullerenes in Comparison with Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Sheets

The highest occupied molecular orbital（HOMO） energies of fullerenes are found by quantitative first-principles calculations to be raised by negative charging, and the rising rate rank of the fullerenes is C60 >C70 >C80 >C90>C100 >C180. Then we compare fullerenes with carbon nanotubes（CNTs） and graphene sheets（GSs） and find that the increase of the HOMO energy of a fullerene is much faster than that of CNTs and graphene sheets with the same number of C atoms. The rising rate rank is fullerene>CNT>GS, which holds no matter what the number of C atoms is or which structure the fullerene isomer is. This work paves a new path for developing all-carbon devices with low-dimensional carbon nanomaterials as different functional elements.

Carbon emission trading system and stock price crash risk of heavily polluting listed companies in China:based on analyst coverage mechanism

This study reveals the inconsistencies between the negative externalities of carbon emissions and the recognition condition of accounting statements.Hence,the study identifies that heavily polluting enterprises in China have severe off-balance sheet carbon reduction risks before implementing the carbon emission trading system(CETS).Through the staggered difference-in-difference(DID)model and the propen-sity score matching-DID model,the impact of CETS on reducing the risk of stock price crashes is examined using data from China’s A-share heavily polluting listed companies from 2007 to 2019.The results of this study are as follows:(1)CETS can significantly reduce the risk of stock price crashes for heavily polluting companies in the pilot areas.Specifically,CETS reduces the skewness(negative conditional skewness)and down-to-up volatility of the firm-specific weekly returns by 8.7%and 7.6%,respectively.(2)Heterogeneity analysis further shows that the impacts of CETS on the risk of stock price crashes are more significant for heavily polluting enterprises with the bear market condition,short-sighted management,and intensive air pollution.(3)Mechanism tests show that CETS can reduce analysts’coverage of heavy polluters,reducing the risk of stock price crashes.This study reveals the role of CETS from the stock price crash risk perspective and helps to clarify the relationship between climatic risk and corporate financial risk.

Experimental and simulation research on thermal stamping of carbon fiber composite sheet

To improve the manufacture efficiency and promote the application of composites in the automobile industry, a new composite forming method, thermal stamping, was discussed to form composite parts directly. Experiments on two typical stamping processes, thermal bending and thermal deep drawing, were conducted to investigate the forming behavior of composite sheets and analyze the influence of forming temperature on the formed composite part. Experimental results show that the locking angle for woven composite is about 30°. The bending load is smaller than 5 N in the stamping process and decreases with the increase of temperature. The optimal temperature to form the carbon fiber composite is 170 ℃. The die temperature distribution and the deformation of composite sheet were simulated by FEA software ABAQUS. To investigate the fiber movement of carbon woven fabric during stamping, the two-node three-dimension linear Truss unit T2D3 was chosen as the fiber element. The simulation results have a good agreement to the experimental results.

Enhanced visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution using two-dimensional carbon nitride sheets with the removal of amine groups

Two-dimensional(2D)carbon nitride sheets(CNs)with atomically thin structures are regarded as one of the most promising materials for solar energy conversion.However,due to their substantially enlarged bandgap caused by the strong quantum size effect and their incomplete polymerisation with a large number of non-condensed surface amino groups,the practical applicability of CNs in photocatalysis is limited.In this study,CNs with broad visible-light absorption were synthesised using a 5-min fast thermal annealing.The removal of uncondensed amine groups reduces the bandgap of CNs from 3.06 eV to 2.60 eV,increasing their absorption of visible light.Interestingly,the CNs were distorted after annealing,which can differentiate the spatial positions of electrons and holes,enhancing the visible-light absorption efficiency.As a result,when exposed to visible light,the photocatalytic hydrogen production activity of atomically thin 2D CNs rose by 8.38 times.This research presents a dependable and speedy method for creating highly effective visible-light photocatalysts with narrowed bandgaps and improved visible-light absorption.

Study on High Strength Concrete Confined by Continuous Carbon Fiber Sheet

Eight high strength concrete (HSC) prisms strengthened with continuous carbon fiber sheet(CFS)were tested.As a result of the confinement provided by CFS,the concrete would fail at a greater strain than the unconfined and then a significant increase in ductility can be achieved.The lateral pressure exerted by CFS would increase the compressive strength of the concrete,resulting in higher load bearing capacity.This paper proposes the stress strain curve of this kind of hybrid specimen,which agrees well with the test results.Based on the stress strain relationship and the assumptions proposed in this paper,a computer program was developed to analyze HSC columns,confined by CFS,which were subjected to axial compression and biaxial bending.The results shown in this paper indicate that the ductility of HSC column is significantly improved and the strength is also increased by some degree.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CONTINUOUS CARBON FIBER SHEET USED IN STRENGTHENING REINFORCED CONCRETE MEMBERS IN BENDING

This paper discusses the method of determining the tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of continuous carbon fiber sheet.Five simply supported beams strengthened by CFS were tested.Based on th experiment,a computer analysis program is developed and a simplified formula is proposed.The calculated results agree well with the experimental results.The design method suggested by this paper can meet the engineering requirements.

Numerical Determination of Shear Strength of Steel Reinforced Concrete Column Strengthened by CFRP Sheets

The earthquake resistant property of reinforced concrete members depends on the interaction between reinforcing bars and surrounding concrete through bond to a large degree. In this paper a general system aimed at dealing with the failure analysis of reinforced concrete columns strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) sheets including bond slip of the anchored reinforcing bars at the foot of the columns is presented. It is based on the yield design theory with a mixed modeling of the structure, according to which the concrete material is treated as a classical two dimensional continuum, whereas the longitudinal reinforcing bars are regarded as one dimensional rods including bond slip at the foot of the columns. In shear reinforced zones both the shear CFRP sheets and transverse reinforcing bars are incorporated in the analysis through a homogenization procedure and they are only in tension. The approach is then implemented numerically by means of the finite element formulation. The numerical procedure produces accurate estimates for the loading carrying capacity of the shear members taken as an illustrative application by correlation with the experimental results, so the proposed approach is valid.

Folic Acid Self-Assembly Enabling Manganese Single-Atom Electrocatalyst for Selective Nitrogen Reduction to Ammonia

Efficient and robust single-atom catalysts(SACs)based on cheap and earth-abundant elements are highly desirable for electrochemical reduction of nitrogen to ammonia(NRR)under ambient conditions.Herein,for the first time,a Mn-N-C SAC consisting of isolated manganese atomic sites on ultrathin carbon nanosheets is developed via a template-free folic acid self-assembly strategy.The spontaneous molecular partial dissociation enables a facile fabrication process without being plagued by metal atom aggregation.Thanks to well-exposed atomic Mn active sites anchored on two-dimensional conductive carbon matrix,the catalyst exhibits excellent activity for NRR with high activity and selectivity,achieving a high Faradaic efficiency of 32.02%for ammonia synthesis at−0.45 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode.Density functional theory calculations unveil the crucial role of atomic Mn sites in promoting N_(2) adsorption,activation and selective reduction to NH_(3) by the distal mechanism.This work provides a simple synthesis process for Mn-N-C SAC and a good platform for understanding the structure-activity relationship of atomic Mn sites.

Electrochemical Study and Application on Shikonin at Poly（diallyldimethylammonium chloride） Functionalized Graphene Sheets Modified Glass Carbon Electrode

The electrochemical behaviors of shikonin at a poly（diallyldimethylammonium chloride） functionalized graphene sheets modified glass carbon electrode（PDDA-GS/GCE） have been investigated. Shikonin could exhibit a pair of well-defined redox peaks at the PDDA-GS/GCE located at 0.681 V（Epa） and 0.662 V（Epc）[vs. saturated calo- mel electrode（SCE）] in 0.1 mol/L phosphate buffer solution（pH=2.0） with a peak-to-peak separation of about 20 mV, revealing a fast electron-transfer process. Moreover, the current response was remarkably increased at PDDA- GS/GCE compared with that at the bare GCE. The electrochemical behaviors of shikonin at the modified electrode were investigated. And the results indicate that the reaction involves the transfer of two electrons, accompanied by two protons and the electrochemical process is a diffusional-controlled electrode process. The electrochemical para- meters of shikonin at the modified electrode, the electron-transfer coefficient（a）, the electron-transfer number（n） and the electrode reaction rate constant（ks） were calculated to be as 0.53, 2.18 and 3.6 s^-1, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, the peak current of differential pulse voltammetry（DPV） increased linearly with the shikonin concentra- tion in a range from 9A72×10^-8 mol/L to 3,789×10^-6 mol/L with a detection limit of 3,157× 10^-8 mol/L. The linear regression equation was Ip=O.7366c＋0.7855（R=0.9978; lp： 10-7 A, c： 10-8 mol/L）. In addition, the modified glass carbon electrode also exhibited good stability, selectivity and acceptable reproducibility that could be used for the sensitive, simple and rapid determination of shikonin in real samples. Therefore, the present work offers a new way to broaden the analytical application of graphene in pharmaceutical analysis.

Renewable wood-derived hierarchical porous,N-doped carbon sheet as a robust self-supporting cathodic electrode for zinc-air batteries

Heteroatom doped porous carbon materials have emerged as essential cathode material for metal-air battery systems in the context of soaring demands for clean energy conversion and storage.Herein,a three-dimensional nitrogen-doped carbon self-supported electrode(TNCSE)is fabricated through thermal treatment and acid activation of raw wood.The resulting TNCSE retains the hierarchical porous architecture of parent raw lumber and holds substantial defect sites and doped N sites in the carbon skeleton.Assembled as a cathode in the rechargeable zinc-air battery,the TNCSE exhibits a superior peak power density of 134.02 m W/cm^(2)and an energy density of 835.92 m Ah/g,significantly exceeding the ones reference commercial 20%Pt/C does.More strikingly,a limited performance decay of 1.47%after an ultra long-period(500 h)cycle is also achieved on the TNCSE.This work could offer a green and cost-save approach for rationally converting biomass into a robust self-supporting cathode material for a rechargeable zinc-air battery.