Micro Humidity Sensor with High Sensitivity and Quick Response/Recovery Based on ZnO/TiO_(2) Composite Nanofibers

ZnO/TiO_(2) composite nanofibers are synthesized by an electrospinning method and characterized by x-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy,and transmission electron microscopy.A micro humidity sensor is fabricated by spinning the precursors of these nanofibers on a ceramic substrate with Ag-Pd interdigitated electrodes.Humidity sensing investigation reveals that this micro sensor offers high sensitivity and quick response/recovery at an operating frequency of 100 Hz.The corresponding impedance changes more than four orders of magnitude within the whole humidity range from 10%to 90%relative humidity(RH),and the response and recovery times are about 4 and 12 s,respectively.The maximum hysteresis is around 2%RH.The humidity sensing mechanism is also discussed based on the nanofiber structure and morphology.

Thermoelectric Properties of ZnO-P2O5/(Ni) Composites

The overall purpose of the present study is basically to understand the manifestation of the thermo-electrical properties of the matrix ZnO-P2O5 first, and of the ZnO-P2O5 composites loaded with different volume fractions of nickel (Ni) as conductive fillers. In the matrix ZnO-P2O5, the values of electrical conductivity varied between 1.14 × 10-8 and 7.8 × 10-7 (S/cm), and the Seebeck coefficient value varied between minimal value 265 and maximal value 670 (μV/K) in the studied temperature. In composite ZnO-P2O5/Ni, it was shown that the Seebeck coefficient changed from high positive to negative values when the filler amount was increased, indicating a non-conducting to conducting phase transition. Such behavior exhibits that this transition is accompanied by the passing of carrier charge from p to n type. The study of thermoelectrically transport for high volume fraction of filler enabled the achievement, for the first time on this kind of composites, of an original transition called PTC transition. Thus, highest values of power factor (PF = S2 ≈ 2 × 10-3 W·m-1·K-2 at 407 K) were obtained, giving a possibility of industrial applications.

Synthesis of flowerlike nickel particles and their microwave absorbing properties

Two kinds of nickel particles with flower-like structures assembled with a number of nano-flakes were synthesized and the relationship of their morphology and microwave absorbing properties was studied.The electromagnetic parameters of these flower-like Ni were measured with vector network analyzer at 2-18 GHz frequency and the reflection losses(RL) with different sample thicknesses were calculated.The results indicate that the flower-like nickel-wax composites with the sample thickness less than 2 mm show excellent absorbing ability.This result is expected to play a guiding role in the preparation of the highly efficient absorber.

FATIGUE GROWTH MODELING OF MIXED-MODE CRACK IN PLANE ELASTIC MEDIA

This paper presents an extension of a displacement discontinuity method with cracktip elements （a boundary element method） proposed by the author for fatigue crack growth analysis in plane elastic media under mixed-mode conditions. The boundary element method consists of the non-singular displacement discontinuity elements presented by Crouch and Starfield and the crack-tip displacement discontinuity elements due to the author. In the boundary element implementation the left or right crack-tip element is placed locally at the corresponding left or right crack tip on top of the non-singular displacement discontinuity elements that cover the entire crack surface and the other boundaries. Crack growth is simulated with an incremental crack extension analysis based on the maximum circumferential stress criterion. In the numerical simulation, for each increment of crack extension, remeshing of existing boundaries is not required because of an intrinsic feature of the numerical approach. Crack growth is modeled by adding new boundary elements on the incremental crack extension to the previous crack boundaries. At the same time, the element characteristics of some related elements are adjusted according to the manner in which the boundary element method is implemented. As an example, the fatigue growth process of cracks emanating from a circular hole in a plane elastic plate is simulated using the numerical simulation approach.

Synthesis of Silica Hollow Spheres with Diameter Around 50 nm by Anionic Surfactant

Silica hollow spheres（SHSs） have attracted great attention because of their low toxicity, low density, large surface area, high chemical and thermal stability, and surface permeability. They can be widely applied in storage^[l], catalysis^[2], drug deli- very^[3,4], low-dielectric-constant materials^[5], low-refractive materials^[6-8], and so on. Up to now, there have been various methods to produce SHSs. Inorganic^[9] or organic particles^[10], such as polystyrene or calcium carbonate, were used as hard templates to create hollow cavities, However, the multistep synthetic process and the lack of structural robustness of the shells upon template removal process weaken their applica- tion. Soft templates, including oil-in-water emulsions^[11,12], vesicles^[13], micelle^[14,15] and gas bubbles^[16], are applied widely.

Effect of Lead-Rubber Bearing Isolators in Reducing Seismic Damage for a High-Rise Building in Comparison with Normal Shear Wall System

Seismic earthquakes are a real danger for the construction evolution of high rise buildings.The rate of earthquakes around the world is noteworthy in a wide range of construction areas.In this study,we present the dynamic behavior of a high-rise RC building with dynamic isolators(lead-rubber-bearing),in comparison with a traditional shear wall system of the same building.Seismic isolation has been introduced in building construction to increase the structural stability and to protect the non-structural components against the damaging effects of an earthquake.In order to clarify the influence of incorporating lead rubber bearing isolators in the seismic response and in reducing seismic damages;a comparative study is performed between a fixed base system(shear wall system)and an isolated base system(Lead Rubber Bearing)on an irregular high rise reinforced concrete(RC)building located in Beirut consisting of 48 storeys almost asymmetric orthogonally.For this purpose,a non-linear analysis of a real earthquake acceleration record(EI Centro seismic signal)is conducted,so that the mode shapes,the damping ratio and the natural frequencies of the two models are obtained using ETABS software.The results prove a substantial elongation of the building period,as well as a reduction in the building displacement,the roof acceleration,the inter-storey drift ratio and the base shear force of isolated building relative to fixed-base building.This study proves that this technology is applicable to high rise buildings with acceptable results.

Thermoelectric generators and their applications:Progress,challenges,and future prospects

Our community currently deals with issues such as rising electricity costs,pollution,and global warming.Scientists work to improve energy harvesting-based power generators in order to reduce their impacts.The Seebeck effect has been used to illustrate the capacity of thermoelectric generators(TEGs)to directly convert thermal energy to electrical energy.They are also ecologically beneficial since they do not include chemical products,function quietly because they lack mechanical structures and/or moving components,and may be built using different fabrication technologies such as three-dimentional(3D)printing,silicon technology,and screen printing,etc.TEGs are also position-independent and have a long operational lifetime.TEGs can be integrated into bulk and flexible devices.This review gives further investigation of TEGs,beginning with a full discussion of their operating principle,kinds,materials utilized,figure of merit,and improvement approaches,which include various thermoelectric material arrangements and utilised technologies.This paper also discusses the use of TEGs in a variety of disciplines such as automobile and biomedical.

Influence of post-annealing on the properties of Ta-doped In_2O_3 transparent conductive films

Ta-doped In_2O_3 transparent conductive oxide films were deposited on glass substrates using radio-frequency (RF) sputtering at 300°C.The influence of post-annealing on the structural,morphologic,electrical and optical properties of the films was investigated using X-ray diffraction,field emission scanning electron microscopy,Hall measurements and optical transmission spectroscopy.The obtained films were polycrystalline with a cubic structure and were preferentially oriented in the (222) crystallographic direction.The lowest resistivity,5.1×10 4 cm,was obtained in the film annealed at 500°C,which is half of that of the un-annealed film (9.9×10 4 cm).The average optical transmittance of the films was over 90%.The optical bandgap was found to decrease with increasing annealing temperature.

Chiral hierarchical structure of bone minerals

Chirality is an indispensable integral of biological system.As an important part of organisms,chiral organic structure of bone has been extensively investigated.However,the chirality of bone minerals is unclear and not fully determined.Here,we report nine levels of fractal-like chirality of bone minerals by combining electron microscopic and spectrometric characterizations.The primary helically twisted acicular apatite crystals inside collagen fibrils and between fibrils merge laterally to form secondary helical subplatelets.The chiral arrangement of several subplatelets forms tertiary spiral mineral platelets.Further coherent stepwise stacking of mineral platelets with collagen fibrils leads to quaternary to ninth levels,which reconciled the previous conflicting models.The optical activities in the UV-visible,infrared and terahertz regions demonstrated chirality from atomic to macroscopic scales based on circularly selective absorption and Bragg resonance at different levels of chirality.Our findings provide new insight into the structural integrity of bone,osteology,forensic medicine and archaeology and inspire the design of novel biomaterials.

Handedness inversion of chiral mesoporous silica: A diffuse-reflectance circular dichroism study

Chiral mesoporous silica ribbons and rods with inversed handedness have been synthesized with the same enantio pure N-acylaminoacidat temperatures of 0℃and 20℃ respectively. With involving Cu^(2+)and meso-tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin(TPPS) as probes, ribbons and rods revealed opposite signals in diffuse-reflectance circular dichroism(DRCD) spectra, indicating the existence of inversed supramolecular chiral imprintings through helical stacking of amphiphiles. The structural evolution was systematically studied by the freeze-dried products sampled at different time after the addition of silica precursors. The H-bonding-depended molecular orientation probably controls the chiral sense upon forming chiral molecular stacking, which would be the origin of such handedness inversion