Electrically Triggered Domain Wall Movement in CuSe Semiconductor.

The ion-conductive α-CuSe is found to possess antipolar dipoles, and the movement of the domain boundary under the applied voltage causes change of resistance, showing promising application in memristors. However, due to the complex ordering of Cu ions in the α-CuSe, there are multiple types of domain wall structure. Here, we show that two typical domain walls in α-CuSe can be formed, by controlling the voltage during phase transition from high-temperature cubic β-CuSe to α-CuSe.

Heterostructured Graphene@Silica@Iron Phenylphosphinate for Fire-Retardant, Strong, Thermally Conductive Yet Electrically Insulated Epoxy Nanocomposites.

The portfolio of extraordinary fire retardancy, mechanical properties, dielectric/electric insulating performances, and thermal conductivity (λ) is essential for the practical applications of epoxy resin (EP) in high-end industries. To date, it remains a great challenge to achieve such a performanceportfolio in EP due to their different and even mutually exclusive governing mechanisms. Herein, a multifunctional additive (G@SiO@FeHP) is fabricated by in situ immobilization of silica (SiO) and iron phenylphosphinate (FeHP) onto the graphene (G) surface.

Atomistic Observation of Desodiation-Induced Phase Transition in Sodium Tungsten Bronze.

The phase instability in layered-structure NaWO induced by the extraction of Na ions was investigated by applying transmission electron microscopy. Real-time atomic-scale observation reveals the phase transition pathway: NaWO (triclinic) → NaWO (cubic) → WO (monoclinic) with specific orientation relationships. The dynamic evolution of NaWO/NaWO phase boundaries shows that NaWO will cleave along the (100) and (010) and recrystallize as (101) and (010) of NaWO, respectively.

Mesoporous silica via self-assembly of nano zinc amino-tris-(methylenephosphonate) exhibiting reduced fire hazards and improved impact toughness in epoxy resin.

Mesoporous silica@nano-zinc amino-tris-(methylenephosphonate) (m-SiO@Zn-AMP) spheres were synthesized via a self-assembly process to integrate the outstanding flame retardancy, thermal stability, and mechanical properties of these materials. The results indicated that nano Zn-AMP particles were successfully deposited on the surface of m-SiO through electrostatic interactions. The prepared m-SiO@Zn-AMP was utilized to improve the flame retardancy, smoke suppression, and mechanical properties of epoxy resin (EP).

Facile synthesis of a flame retardant melamine phenylphosphate and its epoxy resin composites with simultaneously improved flame retardancy, smoke suppression and water resistance.

A flame retardant melamine phenylphosphate (MPhP) was facilely synthesized by the reaction of phenylphosphoric acid (PPA) and melamine (MEL), and was characterized by FTIR and NMR. Epoxy resin (EP) composites containing MPhP were prepared, and the effect of MPhP content on flame retardancy, smoke suppression, mechanical properties and thermal stability of the composites was investigated. It is observed that the LOI of the EP composite with 20 wt% MPhP (EP/MPhP20) is 26.

Fabrication of Fullerene Anchored Reduced Graphene Oxide Hybrids and Their Synergistic Reinforcement on the Flame Retardancy of Epoxy Resin.

A C-PEI-rGO hybrid was prepared by incorporating the fullerene (C) on the surface of PEI-modified reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and then used to modify the epoxy (EP) resin. Subsequently, the structure of GO and C-PEI-rGO hybrid were well characterized, showing that the C was homogenously anchored on the surface of PEI-rGO. The flame retardancy, mechanical properties, and thermal stability of as-prepared C-PEI-rGO/EP nanocomposites were systematically investigated.

Facile synthesis of a novel magnesium amino-tris-(methylenephosphonate)-reduced graphene oxide hybrid and its high performance in mechanical strength, thermal stability, smoke suppression and flame retardancy in phenolic foam.

This study presents a one-step synthesis of a magnesium amino-tris-(methylenephosphonate) (Mg-AMP)-reduced graphene oxide (Mg-rGO) hybrid involving graphene oxide (GO) reduction and growth in situ of Mg-AMP nanoparticles in the absence of a reducing agent. Mg-rGO was characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopies, transmission electronic microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Mg-rGO was then used to prepare flame-retardant and toughened phenolic (PF) foam.

An improved schlieren method for measurement and automatic reconstruction of the far-field focal spot.

The schlieren method of measuring far-field focal spots offers many advantages at the Shenguang III laser facility such as low cost and automatic laser-path collimation. However, current methods of far-field focal spot measurement often suffer from low precision and efficiency when the final focal spot is merged manually, thereby reducing the accuracy of reconstruction. In this paper, we introduce an improved schlieren method to construct the high dynamic-range image of far-field focal spots and improve the reconstruction accuracy and efficiency.

From Multicomponent precursor to nanoparticle nanoribbons of ZnO.

A simple mild solution method is developed to synthesize a novel nanoribbon multicomponent precursor. A new 1-D nanostructure, porous structured nanoribbons which are self-assembled by textured ZnO nanoparticles, was found upon removal of ligand molecules from the ribbonlike precursor. The structure combines 1-dimensional geometry with nanoparticle morphology and displays porous structure because there are gaps/pores between the particles.