Self-Healing Liquid Metal Magnetic Hydrogels for Smart Feedback Sensors and High-Performance Electromagnetic Shielding

Hydrogels exhibit potential applications in smart wearable devices because of their exceptional sensitivity to various external stimuli.However,their applications are limited by challenges in terms of issues in biocompatibility,custom shape,and self-healing.Herein,a conductive,stretchable,adaptable,self-healing,and biocompatible liquid metal GaInSn/Ni-based composite hydrogel is developed by incorporating a magnetic liquid metal into the hydrogel framework through crosslinking polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)with sodium tetraborate.The excellent stretchability and fast self-healing capability of the PVA/liquid metal hydrogel are derived from its abundant hydrogen binding sites and liquid metal fusion.Significantly,owing to the magnetic constituent,the PVA/liquid metal hydrogel can be guided remotely using an external magnetic field to a specific position to repair the broken wires with no need for manual operation.The composite hydrogel also exhibits sensitive deformation responses and can be used as a strain sensor to monitor various body motions.Additionally,the multifunctional hydrogel displays absorption-dominated electromagnetic interference(EMI)shielding properties.The total shielding performance of the composite hydrogel increases to~62.5 dB from~31.8 dB of the pure PVA hydrogel at the thickness of 3.0 mm.The proposed bioinspired multifunctional magnetic hydrogel demonstrates substantial application potential in the field of intelligent wearable devices.

Coupled Numerical Simulation of Electromagnetic and Flow Fields in a Magnetohydrodynamic Induction Pump

Magnetohydrodynamic(MHD)induction pumps are contactless pumps able to withstand harsh environments.The rate of fluid flow through the pump directly affects the efficiency and stability of the device.To explore the influence of induction pump settings on the related delivery speed,in this study,a numerical model for coupled electromagnetic and flow field effects is introduced and used to simulate liquid metal lithium flow in the induction pump.The effects of current intensity,frequency,coil turns and coil winding size on the velocity of the working fluid are analyzed.It is shown that the first three parameters have a significant impact,while changes in the coil turns have a negligible influence.The maximum increase in working fluid velocity within the pump for the parameter combination investigated in this paper is approximately 618%.As the frequency is increased from 20 to 60 Hz,the maximum increase in the mean flow rate of the working fluid is approximately 241%.These research findings are intended to support the design and optimization of these devices.

Liquid phase epitaxy magnetic garnet films and their applications

Liquid phase epitaxy （LPE） is a mature technology. Early experiments on single magnetic crystal films fabricated by LPE were focused mainly on thick films for microwave and magneto-optical devices. The LPE is an excellent way to make a thick film, low damping magnetic garnet film and high-quality magneto-optical material. Today, the principal challenge in the applied material is to create sub-micrometer devices by using modern photolithography technique. Until now the magnetic garnet films fabricated by LPE still show the best quality even on a nanoscale （about 100 nm）, which was considered to be impossible for LPE method.

Theoretical Analysis and Experimental Study on Breakaway Torque of Large-diameter Magnetic Liquid Seal at Low Temperature

The existing researches of the magnetic liquid rotation seal have been mainly oriented to the seal at normal temperature and the seal with the smaller shaft diameter less than 100 mm. However, the large-diameter magnetic liquid rotation seal at low temperature has not been reported both in theory and in application up to now. A key factor restricting the application of the large-diameter magnetic liquid rotation seal at low temperature is the high breakaway torque. In this paper, the factors that influence the breakaway torque including the number of seal stages, the injected quantity of magnetic liquid and the standing time at normal temperature are studied. Two kinds of magnetic liquid with variable content of large particles are prepared first, and a seal feedthrough with 140 mm shaft diameter is used in the experiments. All experiments are carried out in a low temperature chamber with a temperature range from 200℃ to -100℃. Different numbers of seal stages are tested under the same condition to study the relation between the breakaway torque and the number of seal stages. Variable quantity of magnetic liquid is injected in the seal gap to get the relation curve of the breakaway torque and the injecting quantity of magnetic liquid. In the experiment for studying the relation between the breakaway torque and the standing time at the normal temperature, the seal feedtrough is laid at normal temperature for different period of time before it is put in the low temperature chamber. The experimental results show that the breakaway torque is proportional to the number of seal stages, the injected quantity of magnetic liquid and the standing time at the normal temperature. Meanwhile, the experimental results are analyzed and the torque formula of magnetic liquid rotation seal at low temperature is deduced from the Navier-Stokes equation on the base of the model of magnetic liquid rotation seal. The presented research can make wider application of the magnetic liquid seal in general. And the large-diameter magnetic liquid rotation seal at low temperature designed by using present research results are to be used in some special fields, such as the military field, etc.

Tailorable,Lightweight and Superelastic Liquid Metal Monoliths for Multifunctional Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Liquid metal(LM)has become an emerging material paradigm in the electromagnetic interference shielding field owing to its excellent electrical conductivity.However,the processing of lightweight bulk LM composites with finite package without leakage is still a great challenge,due to high surface tension and pump-out issues of LM.Here,a novel confined thermal expansion strategy based on expandable microsphere(EM)is proposed to develop a new class of LM-based monoliths with 3D continuous conductive network.The EM/LM monolith(EM/LMm)presents outstanding performance of lightweight like metallic aerogel(0.104 g cm^(-1)),high strength(3.43 MPa),super elasticity(90%strain),as well as excellent tailor ability and recyclability,rely on its unique gas-filled closed-cellular structure and refined LM network.Moreover,the assembled highly conducting EM/LMm exhibits a recorded shielding effectiveness(98.7 dB)over a broad frequency range of 8.2-40 GHz among reported LM-based composites at an ultra-low content of LM,and demonstrates excellent electromagnetic sealing capacity in practical electronics.The ternary EM/LM/Ni monoliths fabricated by the same approach could be promising universal design principles for multifunctional LM composites,and applicable in magnetic responsive actuator.

Correlation between Structure and Thermal Properties of N-vinyl-3-alkylimidazolium Magnetic Ionic Liquids

Influence of structural variations of N-vinylimidazolium tetrahalogenidoferrate(III) magnetic ionic liquids(MILs) on thermal properties was investigated. Using Gaussian09/B3 PW91/6-311 G(2d, p) density functional methods, the microstructure of the MILs were analyzed. With differential scanning calorimeter(DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA), the thermal properties of the MILs were performed. The results showed that the interaction energies of ion pairs decreased, the crystallization temperature increased first and then decreased, and the surfusion first decreased and then increased with the elongation of the alkyl chain length on cation;with the increase of Br atom, the interaction energies of ion pairs increased;the interaction energies of ion pairs increased in the MILs with the same cation or anion, the nature of polarity of MILs increased and the melting point rose;as the cation or anion in MILs had a smaller size, it could have the solidsolid transition temperature. The results indicated that the decomposition temperature with the same type of MILs increased with the interaction energies of ion pairs. The interaction energy of ion pairs can be used to illuminate the correlation between the thermal properties and the structure of MILs. ILs possesses the properties of macromolecular.

Immobilization of Penicillin G Acylase on Magnetic Nanoparticles Modified by Ionic Liquids

Functionalized ionic liquids containing ethyoxyl groups were synthesized and immobilized on magnetic silica nanoparticles （MSNP） prepared by two steps, i.e., Fe304 synthesis and silica shell growth on the surface. This magnetic nanoparticle supported ionic liquid （MNP-IL） were applied in the immobilization of penicillin G acylase （PGA）. The MSNPs and MNP-ILs were characterized by themeans of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and vibrating sample magnetometer （VSM）. The results showed that the average size of magnetic Fe304 nanoparticles and MSNPs were -10 and -90 nm, respectively. The saturation magnetizations of magnetic Fe304 nanoparticles and MNP-ILs were 63.7 and 26.9 A＇m2·kg^-1, respectively. The MNP-IL was successfully applied in the immobilization of PGA. The maximum amount of loaded enzyme-was about 209 mg·g^-1 （based on carder）, and the highest enzyme activity of immobilized PGA （based on ImPGA） was 261 U·g^-1. Both the amount of loaded enzyme and the activity of ImPGA are at the same leyel of or higher than that in previous reports. After 10 consecutive operat!ons, ImPGA still mainrained 62% of its initial activity, indicating the＇good recovery property of ImPGA activity. The ionic liquid modified magnetic particles integrate the magnetic properties of Fe304 and the structure-tunable properties of ionic liquids, and have extensive potential uses in protein immobilization and magnetic bioseparation. This work may open up a novel strategy to immobilize proteins by ionic liquids.

Determination of Sulfadimidine in Royal Jelly by C_(18)-functionalized Magnetic Silica Nanoparticles Solid Phase Extraction-High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

[Objective] This study aimed to develop a method of C_18-functionalized magnetic silica nanoparticles solid phase extraction-high performance liquid chro- matography-tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of sulfadimidine in royal jelly. [Method] The royal jelly samples were pretreated by MCX SPE column and C_18-functionalized magnetic silica nanoparticles, and the purified samples were de- tected by HPLC-MS/MS. [Result] The detection method showed a good linear rela- tionship in the range of 5-80 ugkg （r=0.993 1）. The recovery ranges were between 93%- 104% with the relative standard deviations （RSD） below 11.3%. [Conclusion] Combined with automation equipment, the method is simple, fast, time-saving, and easy to real- ize the automation of sulfadimidine in the royal jelly samples before determination.

Axial Liquid Dispersion Characteristics in Magnetically Stabilized Bed

Axial liquid dispersion was experimentally studied in liquid-solid and gas-liquid-solid magnetically stabilized beds using the ferromagnetic catalyst of SRNA-4 as the solid phase. The effects of operating factors and fluid characters, such as superficial liquid velocity, superficial gas velocity, magnetic field intensity, liquid viscosity and surface tension, on axial dispersion coefficients of liquid were investigated. The dispersion coefficients increased with the increase of superficial liquid velocity and superficial gas velocity, and decreased with the increase of liquid viscosity, liquid surface tension and magnetic field intensity. A correlation equation of Peclet number was obtained for both liquid-solid and gas-liquid-solid magnetically stabilized bed.

Explaining Pomeranchuk Effect by Parity of Magnetic Moments of Leptons and Hadrons for Superconductivity in 3He and Graphene*

The mystery of superconductivity has intrigued scientists for 110 years now. The author in 2014 specifically predicted the superconductivity in carbon, sulfur and hydrogen compounds and generally predicted carbonaceous, hydrogeneous and sulfurous compounds in 2005 with reference to scattering to asymmetric orbital motions and associated spin and orbital exchanges between nuclei and electrons. The emphasis was in 2005 upon stronger electron and nuclear interactions and electron-phonon effects. But here the author develops more the un-gerade parity of the p and f orbitals and their contributions to the superconductivity at lower pressures and higher temperatures. On the bases of such, the role of parity from the origin and inflation of the Universe is noted and dark and bright energies and matters in the mature Universe are reasoned. Moreover, the superconductors are all reasoned by positive and negative nuclear magnetic moments (NMMs) with availability of un-gerade parities of p and f subshells and their orbitals. In addition to superconductivity, such positive and negative NMMs by Little Effect is presented for explaining Pomeranchuk Effect and thereby further explaining superconductivity and superfluidity of 3He. On the bases of successes of Little Effect via positive and negative NMMs, in particular negative NMMs of 3He, the superconductivity in twisted graphene is explained and also its recently discovered Pomeranchuk Effect.

Experimental study on freezing of liquids under static magnetic field

Freezing processes of several liquids under static magnetic field(SMF) less than 50 mT were investigated. Central temperature of liquid samples held in glass test tubes immersed in a liquid bath was measured and collected. Nucleation temperature and phase transition time were obtained from freezing curves. Normality tests were performed for nucleation temperature of these liquids with/without magnetic field and normality distributions were justified. Analysis of variances was carried out for nucleation temperature of these liquids with magnetic field flux density as the influencing factor. Results showed that no significant difference was found for deionized water with or without SMF. However, differences exist in 0.9% NaCl solution and 5% ethylene glycol solution with and without SMF. Nucleation temperature of 0.9% NaCl with SMF is lower than that without SMF, while its phase transition time is shorter than that without SMF. Nucleation temperature of 5% ethylene glycol with SMF is higher than that without SMF, while its phase transition time is not modified with SMF.

Guiding magnetic liquid metal for flexible circuit

Liquid metal(LM) has potential applications in flexible electronics due to its high electrical conductivity and high flexibility. However, common methods of printing LM circuits on soft substrates lack controllability, precision, and the ability to repair a damaged circuit. In this paper, we propose a method that uses a magnetic field to guide a magnetic LM(MLM) droplet to print and repair a flexible LM circuit on a femtosecond(fs) laser-patterned silicone surface.After mixing magnetic iron(Fe) particles into LM, the movement of the resultant MLM droplet could be controlled by a magnetic field. A patterned structure composed of the untreated flat domain and the LM-repellent rough microstructure produced by fs laser ablation was prepared on the silicone substrate. As an MLM droplet was guided onto the designed pattern, a soft LM circuit with smooth, uniform, and high-precision LM lines was obtained. Interestingly, the MLM droplet could also be guided to repair the circuit broken LM lines, and the repaired circuit maintained its original electrical properties. A flexible tensile sensor was prepared based on the printed LM circuit, which detected the bending degree of a finger.

A New Design of Magnetic Fluid Seal for Liquids

Direct contract between the sealed liquid and the magnetic fluid in a dynamic system under magnetic field may lead to an unstable interface, consequently, break down the seal. Aiming at this problem, a new magnetic fluid seal (MFS) was developed. In this new MFS, a soft iron bushing with high permeability was introduced on the shaft and nonferrous shields were installed beside the bushing and the pole pieces. The parameters of the bushing and the shields were optimized in a seal simulation facility The results show that the bushing with a thickness of 7 mm and shields with a width of 8 mm are best for sealing a shaft 20 mm in diameter. The MFS designed based on the optimum parameters shows good performance and long life span for sealing lubricating oil.

Axial Liquid Dispersion Characteristics in Magnetically Stabilized Bed

Axial liquid dispersion was experimentally studied in liquid-solid and gas-liquid-solid magnetically sta- bilized beds using the ferromagnetic catalyst of SRNA-4 as the solid phase. The effects of operating factors and fluid characters, such as superficial liquid velocity, superficial gas velocity, magnetic field intensity, liquid viscosity and surface tension, on axial dispersion coefficients of liquid were investigated. The dispersion coefficients in- creased with the increase of superficial liquid velocity and superficial gas velocity, and decreased with the increase of liquid viscosity, liquid surface tension and magnetic field intensity. A correlation equation of Peclet number was obtained for both liquid-solid and gas-liquid-solid magnetically stabilized bed.

Revealing structure correlation between ionic liquid and metal-organic framework matrix

Solid-state batteries are rising rapidly in response to the fast-increasing energy demand.Metal-organic framework(MOF) loaded with ionic liquids has brought new opportunities for solid-state batteries owing to its good interfacial compatibility and high ionic conductivity. MOF-808 is selected to be filled with Li-contained ionic liquid for structure and ion dynamics investigation using nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) and X-ray diffraction.This study finds that the introduced ionic liquid would partially soften the matrix of MOF-808 and thus yield amorphous phase. By selective isotope replacement under cycling symmetric ^(6)Li metal cell, Li^(+)ion is observed to mainly go cross ionic liquid in the open channel of matrix under potential polarization.

Correlation of magnetic anisotropy with dielectric anisotropy in fluorinated phenyl bicyclohexane liquid crystal

Temperature dependence of magnetic anisotropy of homologous nematic fluorinated phenyl bicyclohexane liquid crystals is measured by a magneto-electric method. The result shows that the diamagnetic property is slightly influenced by the positions and the numbers of fluorine atoms substituted at the phenyl ring. By investigating the correlation of the dielectric anisotropy with the magnetic anisotropy, a novel explanation is proposed for the behaviour of the molecular dipole-dipole dimerization in the polar liquid crystal compounds.

Monte Carlo study of the magnetic properties of spin liquid compound NiGa_2S_4

The magnetic properties of two-dimensional antiferromagnet NiGa2S4 have attracted much attention and yet some problems are far from being solved. We investigate the magnetic properties of NiGa2S4 by Monte Carlo simulations. A new spin-interacting model is proposed to describe the system, and the specific heat together with the doping effect of nonmagnetic impurity is studied by simulations. The double peaks of the specific heat as well as other behaviors are well reproduced. We also compare our results with those of other models, and the underlying physics is discussed.

Experimental Investigation on Finishing Technology by Magnetostrictive Ultrasonic Vibration of Magnetic Liquid

Magnetic liquid can produce alternative internal pressure under the alternative high-frequency gradient magnetic field.Because it has higher bulk modulus,the internal pressure results in its volume change.Using piezoelectric transducers,the ultrasonic wave generated by the vibration of magnetic liquids can be detected,which shows that the magnetic liquids have the magnetostrictive effect and can generate the ultrasonic vibration under the alternative magnetic gradient field.Some nonmagnetic abrasives and rust-proofing agents can be mixed into the magnetic liquids,under the alternative magnetic field,the abrasives held by magnetic liquids grind the surface of the workpieces,and thus,the finishing for the surface with complex shape,mold cavity and inner wall of tiny tubes can be realized.

Synthesis and Magnetic Properties of Spin-Liquid Tb_2Ti_2O_7

Polycrystalline samples of a novel spin-liquid compound Tb2Ti2O7 were prepared by a standard solid-state reaction. X-ray diffraction at room temperature confirms that the synthesized compound of Tb2Ti2O7 is single phase with cubic unit cell constant a0 of 1.015 44 nm. Magnetic susceptibility measurements in the temperature range between 100 and 300 K give an effective moment of 9.44 μB and Curie-Weiss temperature of 12.68 K, respectively, indicating the dominance of antiferromagnetic interactions. However, below 50 K, the magnetic behavior of Tb2Ti2O7 deviates from Curie-Weiss law, whose origin remains suspicion.

A Double-Phase High-Frequency Traveling Magnetic Field Developed for Contactless Stirring of Low-Conducting Liquid Materials

The use of low electrically conducting liquids is more and more widespread.This is the case for molten glass,salt or slag processing,ionic liquids used in biotechnology,batteries in energy storage and metallurgy.The present paper deals with the design of a new electromagnetic induction device that can heat and stir low electricallyconducting liquids.It consists of a resistance-capacity-inductance circuit coupled with a low-conducting liquid load.The device is supplied by a unique electric power source delivering a single-phase high frequency electric current.The main working principle of the circuit is based on a double oscillating circuit inductor connected to the solid-state transistor generator.This technique,which yields a set of coupled oscillating circuits,consists of coupling a forced phase and an induced phase,neglecting the influence of the electric parameters of the loading part(i.e.,the low-conductivity liquid).It is shown that such an inductor is capable to provide a two-phase AC traveling magnetic field at high frequency.To better understand the working principle,the present work improves a previous existing simplified theory by taking into account a complex electrical equivalent diagram due to the different mutual couplings between the two inductors and the two corresponding induced current sets.A more detailed theoretical model is provided,and the key and sensitive elements are elaborated.Based on this theory,equipment is designed to provide a stirring effect on sodium chloride-salted water at 40 S/m.It is shown that such a device fed by several hundred kiloHertz electric currents is able to mimic a linear motor.A set of optimized operating parameters are proposed to guide the experiment.A pure electromagnetic numerical model is presented.Numerical modelling of the load is performed in order to assess the efficiency of the stirrer with a salt water load.Such a device can generate a significant liquid motion with both controlled flow patterns and adjustable amplitude.Based on the magnetohydrodynamic theory,numerical modeling of the salt water flow generated by the stirrer confirms its feasibility.