Balloon-Shaped SMF Blood Glucose Concentration and Temperature Sensor Based on Core-Offset Structure.

A blood glucose concentration and temperature sensor with a balloon-shaped single-mode fiber (SMF) based on a core-offset structure is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The balloon-shaped SMF is created by offset-fusing a straight-line SMF between two other SMFs, thereby forming a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI). The core-offset structure can effectively excite higher-order cladding modes.

Temperature-insensitive refractive index sensor based on a spindle-shaped few-mode fiber modal interferometer.

A designed temperature-insensitive modal interferometer for refractive index measurement based on spindle-shaped few-mode fiber (FMF) is proposed and demonstrated. The interferometer consisting of a specific length of FMF fused between two specific lengths of single-mode fibers is bent into a balloon shape and then burned by a flame into a spindle shape to sensitize. Due to the bending of the fiber, part of the light leaks from the core to the cladding and excites the higher-order modes, and the four modes in the core of FMF interfere with the higher-order modes in the cladding.

Hierarchically fractal Co with highly exposed active facets and directed electron-transfer effect.

Hierarchically fractal Co with highly exposed active (002) facets, possessing a higher work function and more moderate hydrogen adsorption free energy, has been synthesized a template-free self-assembly method for the directed electron-transfer design of HER catalysts. It shows a great improvement in the HER activity in comparison with that of nanostructured Co.

Ultimate Corrosion to Pt-Cu Electrocatalysts for Enhancing Methanol Oxidation Activity and Stability in Acidic Media.

Alloying platinum (Pt) with transition metals (M), as an established class of electrocatalysts, reduces the use of Pt and improves the electrocatalytic performance. However, the stability of transition metals in nanostructured platinum alloys is a fundamental and practical problem in electrocatalysis, due to leaching of transition metals under acidic operating condition. Here, a corrosion method has been developed for a Pt-Cu electrocatalyst with high activity (6.

Hydrogen Evolution Enhancement over a Cobalt-Based Schottky Interface.

A proof-of-concept strategy for significant enhancement of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance of transition metals via construction of a metal/semiconductor Schottky junction is presented. The decoration of low-cost commercial TiO nanoparticles on the surface of microscale Co dendrites causes a significant charge transfer across the Co/TiO Schottky interface and enhances the local electron density at the Co surface, confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results and density functional theory calculations. The Co/TiO Schottky catalyst displays superior HER activity with a turnover frequency of 0.

Homojunction of Oxygen and Titanium Vacancies and its Interfacial n-p Effect.

The homojunction of oxygen/metal vacancies and its interfacial n-p effect on the physiochemical properties are rarely reported. Interfacial n-p homojunctions of TiO are fabricated by directly decorating interfacial p-type titanium-defected TiO around n-type oxygen-defected TiO nanocrystals in amorphous-anatase homogeneous nanostructures. Experimental measurements and theoretical calculations on the cell lattice parameters show that the homojunction of oxygen and titanium vacancies changes the charge density of TiO ; a strong EPR signal caused by oxygen vacancies and an unreported strong titanium vacancies signal of 2D H TQ-SQ MAS NMR are present.