Gypsum-based Silica Gel Humidity-controlling Composite Materials:Preparation,Characterization,and Performance

Gypsum was used as substrate,and silica gel was mixed into substrate at a certain mass ratio to prepare humidity-controlling composites;moreover,the moisture absorption and desorption properties of gypsum-based composites were compared with adding different silica gel particle size and proportion.The morphological characteristics,the isothermal equilibrium moisture content curve,moisture absorption and desorption rate,moisture absorption and desorption stability,and humidity-conditioning performance were tested and analyzed.The experimental results show that,compared with pure-gypsum,the surface structure of the gypsum-based composites is relatively loose,the quantity,density and aperture of the pores in the structure increase.The absorption and desorption capacity increase along with the increase of silica gel particle size and silica gel proportion.When 3 mm silica gel particle size is added with a mass ratio of 40%,the maximum equilibrium moisture content of humidity-controlling composites is 0.161 g/g at 98% relative humidity(RH),3.22 times that of pure-gypsum.The moisture absorption and desorption rates are increased,the equilibrium moisture absorption and desorption rates are 2.68 times and 1.61 times that of pure-gypsum at 58.5% RH,respectively.The gypsum-based composites have a good stability,which has better timely response to dynamic humidity changes and can effectively regulate indoor humidity under natural conditions.

SYNTHESIS OF MESOPOROUS POLY(STYRENE-co-MALEIC ANHYDRIDE)/SILICA HYBRID MATERIALS VIA A NONSURFACTANT-TEMPLATED SOL-GEL PROCESS

Mesoporous poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride)/silica hybrid materials have been prepared. The synthesis was achieved by the HCl-catalyzed sol-gel reactions of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer in the presence of 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES) as a coupling agent and citric acid as a nonsurfactant template or pore-forming agent, followed by ethanol extraction. Characterization results from nitrogen sorption isotherms and powder X-ray diffraction indicate that polymer-modified mesoporous materials with large specific surface areas (e.g. 900 m(2)/g) and pore volumes (e.g. 0.6 cm(3)/g) could be prepared. As the citric acid concentration is increased, the specific surface areas, pore volumes and pore diameters of the hybrid materials increase.

Structure Characterization and Dephosphorization Effect Analysis of Oyster Shell-silica Micropowder Waste Water Dephosphorization Materials

In this work,the effects of pH value of waste water and initial concentration of phosphorus on dephosphorization materials were investigated.The materials were prepared by shaping,sintering and hydrothermal reshaping oyster shell and silica micro-powder.Different concentrations of phosphorus-contained waste water were simulated with potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution,the effect of dephosphorization was tested with phosphomolybdenum blue spectrophotometer method,and the crystal phase and microstructure of materials were characterized by XRD and SEM methods. It was indicated that dephosphorization was completed in 6 h when the initial phosphorus concentration in waste water was lower than 15 mg/L, and the dephosphorization time prolonged as the increase of phosphorus concentration. It was observed that the pH value of waste water influenced dephosphorization significantly, and neutral subalkalic environment favored dephosphorization. When the pH value was 11, the efficiency of dephosphozation was the greatest. For waste water with an initial concentration of 20 mg/L, the dephosphozation rate is close to 100% in8 h.

Influence of Silica Fume on the Reflectivity and Transmission Efficiency of Cement-Based Materials

As a kind of mineral admixture, silica fume has low permittivity, which will affect the electromagnetic properties of cement-based materials. To study the effect of silica fume on the properties of cement-based materials, the reflectivity, transmission efficiency and pore structure were analyzed by using the vector network analyzer and mercury injection apparatus. Results show that silica fume can make the mortar more compact and the porosity of sample with 9% silica fume is only 17.8%, which is far lower than the control sample;With the increase of the silica fume content, the peak of reflectivity curve increases from -23.2 dB to -16.0 dB, and then decreases from -16.04 dB to -28.7 dB in the frequency range of 6 – 18 GHz. Reflectivity of sample with 3% content of silica fume is lower than other samples within 26.5 - 40 GHz;Transmission efficiency of samples shows the trend of increase with silica fume content increases from 0% to 6% within 8.2 - 12.4 GHz, 12 - 18 GHz and 26.5 - 40 GHz, but when the content increases from 6% to 9%, the transmission efficiency of samples reduces.

SYNTHESIS OF HYBRID MESOPOROUS POLYSTYRENE-SILICA MATERIALS WITH NON-SURFACTANT CITRIC ACID AS TEMPLATE VIA SOL-GEL PROCESS

Hybrid mesoporous polystyrene-silica materials were successfully prepared through HCl-catalyzed sol-gel reactions of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and triethoxysilyl-functionalized polystyrene obtained via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene, in the presence of citric acid (CA) as non-surfactant template or pore-forming agent and followed by ethanol extraction to remove template molecules. The materials were characterized by infrared spectroscopy OR), N-2 adsorption-desorption measurements, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicate that the materials prepared with 50 wt%-60 wt% template contents have average pore sizes of 2-3 nm and large surface areas (ca. 886 m(2)/g) as well as high pore volumes (ca. 0.53 cm(3)/g). The mesoporosity arises from interconnected channels and pores with disordered arrangements. The pore diameters and pore volumes increase as the template content is increased. The pore diameters show a little change upon heating at 200degreesC overnight. However, the materials do not have good hydrothermal stability.

Preparation and Characterization of Mullite-Silica Aerogel Composite Material

Silica aerogel due to the high specific surface area, nanometer level pores and low density of the micro structure, had excellent heat-insulating properties. But the characteristics of silica aerogel with low density and high voidage resulted in poor mechanical properties. In order to improve the strength of materials and meet the actual needs, in this paper the heat-insulating composite material was made from the silica aerogel and mullite fiber. This kind of composite material mainly contented of mullite fiber, formed macro block structure, that gas gel is coated and filled with mullite fiber. Furthermore, the composite material had good strength and kept excellent thermal stability at 600°C. In addition the density of composite decreased with the increasing of the gas gel content.

Preparation of Magnesia Insulation Materials by Walnut Shell Powder Impregnated with Silica Sol

In order to reduce the thermal energy loss of high temperature kilns and furnaces and lower the surface temperature of the kiln body,magnesia insulation materials were prepared using self-made magnesia porous aggregates(using high purity magnesia powder as starting material and potassium oleate as the foaming agent),middle grade magnesia powder,calcium aluminate cement,and SiO_(2) micropowder as starting materials,introducing walnut shell powder impregnated with silica sol(short for Sws)as a pore-forming agent.The effects of the Sws addition(0,10%,15%,and 20%,by mass)and the sintering temperature(1300,1350,1400,and 1480℃)on the properties of magnesia insulation materials were studied.The results show that(1)for the specimens fired at 1480℃,when the Sws addition is 10%,the cold compressive strength is 22 MPa;when the Sws addition is 20%,the thermal conductivity is 0.368 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1)(350℃);(2)nano-silica in the silica sol reacts with MgO in the matrix to form forsterite,which encapsulates the pores volatilized from the walnut shell powder and forms closed pores.

Mechanism of E' center induced by γ ray radiation in silica optical fiber material

The characteristics of the best known defect centers E' in silica optical fiber material irradiated with ray were investigated by ESR at room temperature.A mechanism model of production of the E' center defect was established.The production of E' center includes two processes creation and activation.The strained bonds(or oxygen replacement) in silica networks lead to the creation of new defects whose concentration increases linearly with the dose.The pre-existing defects produce the activation,which tends to saturation.According to this model,the relation of E' center concentration changing with irradiation dose was obtained theoretically.The results are in good agreement with the experimental results.

OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF MORTAR INCORPORATING PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS AND SILICA FUME

This paper examines the thermal performance of 20 different mortar mixes,which were prepared in order to study the behaviour of mortar incorporating Phase Change Materials(PCM).The PCM was used at a rate of 10,20 and 30%by weight of total solid materials.Silica fume was added to the mixes by 10,20,30 and 50%by weight of cement to enhance the mortar properties.Mortars which incorporate phase-change materials(PCM)have the capability to help regulate the temperature inside buildings,contributing to the thermal comfort while decreasing the amount of mechanical heating and cooling energy required,therefore they have the potential to reduce building carbon emissions.The mechanical characteristics and physical properties of the mortar with PCM were studied.The results show that mortar with Phase Change Materials up to PCM20%can be used with an optimal compressive strength.Silica fume(SF),up to a 20%SF addition,enhanced the mechanical properties of the mortar.

Adsorption of rubidium ion from aqueous solution by surface ion imprinted materials

A new type of rubidium ion-imprinted polymer has been synthesized by the surface-imprinting technique using methacrylic acid as the functional monomer,the rubidium ion as the template,methanol as the solvent,and silica as a carrier.Ethylene glycol dimethacrylate and 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile were used as acrosslinker and an initiator,respectively.In addition,based on the macrocyclic effect of crown ethers,the 18-crown-6 ligand was introduced as a ligand to fix the template ions better.Scanning electron microscopy,zeta-potential analysis,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,thermogravimetric analysis,and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were performed to characterize the ion-imprinted polymer.The effects of the preparation and adsorption conditions on the adsorption performance of the rubidium ion-imprinted polymer were investigated.The results indicated that the rubidium ion-imprinted polymer has high selectivity and faster kinetics than other adsorbents,with an equilibrium adsorption capacity of 200.19 mg·g^(-1)at 298 K within 25 min.The sorption isotherm was well described by the Freundlich isotherm model,while the adsorption kinetics fitted the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.Consecutive adsorption-desorption experiments showed that the ion-imprinted polymer had good chemical stability and reusability.

Preparation of Nanoporous Thermal Insulating Materials and Their Application as Ladle Linings

The nanoporous thermal insulating material was prepared by using fumed silica,SiC powder and glass fiber as starting materials,the appropriate thickness of the nanoporous thermal insulating material lined in ladle was discussed by the simulation method,and the effect of its application as ladle lining was investigated.The results show that the thermal conductivity of the nanoporous thermal insulating material prepared in composition of fumed silica： SiC powder： glass fiber =75： 20：5 （in mass） is 0.023 W · m^-1 · K^-1 at 1 000 ℃,the appropriate thickness of the nanoporous thermal insulating material lined in ladle is ≤ 5 mm and the average temperature of the ladle outside surface when lined with the nanoporous thermal insulating material is 95 ℃ lower than that with the ordinary thermal insulating material.

Study and Application of Sealing Material for Coke Oven Chamber

A kind of dry refractory sealing material has been developed to repair the fine cracks in coke oven chamber. With silica sand as the main raw material, the sealing material is blown into coke oven chamber by compressed air while being applied, and bonded to brick surface or filled in fine cracks of chamber under right pressure. The physical properties of the material are similar to those of silica bricks during its application. So it can be adapted to conditions of coke oven and has good service life. The study and application results of the sealing material are described in this paper.

MODIFICATION THE CEMENTIOUS MATERIAL OF ULTRA-HIGH-STRENGTH SLEEPER CONCRETE

This paper presents investigation results on the natural ultra-fine mineral flour of crystalline silica fume (CSF) and porous quartz sand stone (PQSS) which can modify cement mortar strength under hydrothermal synthesis reaction (HSR) in the autoclave-cured condition. The replacement of cement by CSF and PQSS can signifi cantly increase the Jflerural and compressive strength which reach 22MPa and 150MPa respectively and de-crease the porosity oj the cement mortar. The ratio oj fine aggregation, standard sand to cementions material has sig nificant influence on the mortar strength. The mechanisms involved in cement and natural mineral flour and the HSR are presented. CaO/SiO2 ratio ranges from 3. 20 to 1. 11. the main hydrate phase is C2SH and there is not Tober-morite through X-Ray diffraction qualitative analysis. The new and ultra-high strength cementious material as basic material of sleeper concrete can he used in prestressed reinforcement sleeper concrete.

Advances in microwave assisted synthesis of ordered mesoporous materials

Mesoporous materials with uniform pores and high specific areas are used in many fields including catalysts, separation and adsorbents, etc. In order to find faster and more economical synthesis routes, the use of microwave heating was deeply studied. Compared to the hydrothermal method, microwave energy can heat the samples to crystallization temperature rapidly and uniformly result in homogeneous nucleation and shorten crystallization time. The basic principles of microwave assisted synthesis and advantages of microwave heating, and the obtained progress concerning ordered mesoporous materials through microwave synthesis were summarized.

Synthesis of the Core-Shell Structure Materials as the Controlled-Release Drug Carrier

We have developed a controlled-release drug carrier. Smartly controlled-release polymer nanoparticles were firstly synthesized through RAFT polymerization as the controlled-release core. The structural and particle properties of polymer nanoparticles were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Mesoporous materials were selected as the shell materials to encapsulate the smart core as the stable shell. The mesoporous shell was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). All the results showed that a well-defined core-shell structure with mesoporous structure was obtained, and this controllable delivery system will have the great potential in nanomedicine.

Green Cementitious Paste Based on Recycled Materials

Cementitious alkali activated aluminosilicates pastes were produced from recycled and locally obtainable materials in Iraq. The compositions were based on recycled bricks, water glass, commercial caustic soda flakes, and nano silica. The nano silica was prepared from the abundant local ＂Iraqi anber＂ rice husks and added to the prepared pastes in different weight percentages. Another set of pastes was prepared via adding 5w% of＂A1-Najaf＇ fly ash at the expense of the recycled bricks powders. The pastes were cured for 1-28 days under ambient conditions. The compressive strengths for the cured pastes were measured. In addition, the cured pastes were characterized via X-ray diffraction, FTIR, and optical microscopy. The addition of the nano silica and longer curing times improve the microstructure packing and thus increases the compressive strengths. The added fly ash impregnates the microstructure with extra gel phase and further improves the compressive strengths of the cured pastes.

Refractory Raw Materials

Jiangsu Jinghui Refractories Co., Ltd. Products： tabular alumina, sintered mullite, rare earth corundum, active alumina, 99 alumina ball, ceramic lining and Zirconia ring series. Add： No. 10 Zheyang Road, Zhenwu Jiangdu 225265, Jiangsu Province, China ceramic Town,

Micro/nano Indentation and Single Grit Diamond Grinding Mechanism on Ultra Pure Fused Silica

The existing research about ductile grinding of fused silica glass was mainly focused on how to carry out ductile regime material removal for generating very ＂smoothed＂ surface and investigate the machining-induced damage in the grinding in order to reduce or eliminate the subsurface damage.The brittle/ductile transition behavior of optical glass materials and the wear of diamond wheel are the most important factors for ductile grinding of optical glass.In this paper,the critical brittle/ductile depth,the influence factors on brittle/ductile transition behavior,the wear of diamond grits in diamond grinding of ultra pure fused silica（UPFS） are investigated by means of micro/nano indentation technique,as well as single grit diamond grinding on an ultra-stiff machine tool,Tetraform ＂C＂.The single grit grinding processes are in-process monitored using acoustic emission（AE） and force dynamometer simultaneously.The wear of diamond grits,morphology and subsurface integrity of the machined groves are examined with atomic force microscope（AFM） and scanning electron microscope（SEM）.The critical brittle/ductile depth of more than 0.5 μm is achieved.When compared to the using roof-like grits,by using pyramidal diamonds leads to higher critical depths of scratch with identical grinding parameters.However,the influence of grit shapes on the critical depth is not significant as supposed.The grinding force increased linearly with depth of cut in the ductile removal regime,but in brittle removal regime,there are large fluctuations instead of forces increase.The SEM photographs of the cross-section profile show that the median cracks dominate the crack patterns beneath the single grooves.Furthermore,The SEM photographs show multi worn patterns of diamond grits,indicating an inhomogeneous wear mechanism of diamond grits in grinding of fused silica with diamond grinding wheels.The proposed research provides the basal technical theory for improving the ultra-precision grinding of UPFS.

Hydrogen Bonding-Assisted Synthesis of Silica/Oxidized Mesocarbon Microbeads Encapsulated in Amorphous Carbon as Stable Anode for Optimized/Enhanced Lithium Storage

The practical application of silica-based composites as an alternative to commercial graphite anode materials is hampered by their large volumetric expansion,poor conductivity,and low Coulombic efficiency.In this work,a novel silica/oxidized mesocarbon microbead/amorphous carbon(SiO2/O’MCMB/C)hierarchical structure in which SiO2 is sandwiched between spherical graphite and amorphous carbon shell was succes sfully fabricated through hydrogen bonding-assisted self-assembly and post-carbon coating method.The obtained three-layer hierarchical structure effectively accommodates the volumetric expansion of SiO2 and significantly enhances the electronic conductivity of composite materials.Moreover,the outer layer of amorphous carbon effectively increases the diffusion rate of lithium ions and promotes the formation of stable SEI film.As a result,the SiO2/O’MCMB/C composite exhibits superior electrochemical performance with a reversible capacity of 459.5 mA h/g in the first cycle,and the corresponding Coulombic efficiency is 62.8%.After 300 cycles,the capacity climbs to around 600 mA h/g.This synthetic route provides an efficient method for preparing SiO2 supported on graphite with excellent electrochemical performance,which is likely to promote its commercial applications.

Polymer-free electrospun separator film comprising silica nanofibers and alumina nanoparticles for Li-ion full cell

A separator film for high-performance Li-ion batteries was prepared by electrospinning. The film had a hybrid morphology of silica nanofibers(SNFs) and alumina nanoparticles(ANPs), with a smooth surface, polymer-free composition, high porosity(79%), high electrolyte uptake(876%), and excellent thermal stability. Contact angle measurements demonstrated the better immersion capability of the SNF-ANP separator film for commercial liquid electrolytes than a commercial CELGARD 2500 separator film. Moreover,compared to the commercial CELGARD 2500 separator, the ionic conductivity of the SNF-ANP separator film was nearly three times higher, the bulk resistance was lower at elevated temperature(120 ℃), the interfacial resistance with lithium metal was lower, and the electrochemical window was wider. Full cells were fabricated to determine the cell performance at room temperature. The specific capacity of the full cell with the SNF-ANP separator film was 165 mAh g-1;the cell was stable for 100 charge/discharge cycles and exhibited a capacity retention of 99.9%. Notably, the electrospun SNF-ANP separator film can be safely used in Li-ion or Li-S rechargeable batteries.