Micro arc oxidation(MAO)coatings were formed on magnesium alloy AZ31B to improve the corrosion resistance using environmental friendly electrolyte solution under single-polar pulse power supply.The effect of electrica...Micro arc oxidation(MAO)coatings were formed on magnesium alloy AZ31B to improve the corrosion resistance using environmental friendly electrolyte solution under single-polar pulse power supply.The effect of electrical parameters of pulse frequency on the coating performance was studied at frequencies of 2.5 Hz,25 Hz and 250 Hz.The coating performance at different frequencies was characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDS)and potentiodynamic polarization testing method.It was found that the corrosion resistance of the MAO coatings was improved when increasing the pulse frequencies from 2.5 Hz to 250 Hz.The corrosion current in 250 Hz case decreased by three orders of magnitude as compared with bare Mg alloy and the corrosion impedance also increased remarkably,means significantly enhanced corrosion resistance than bare Mg alloy.The results give us more insight in the optimization of electrical parameters to improve the MAO coating performance.The MAO technology is attractive for application on magnesium and other light alloys for surface protection in automotive and space industries.展开更多
A flexible counter electrode(CE) for dye-sensitized solar cells(DSCs) has been fabricated using a micro-porous polyvinylidene fluoride membrane as support media and sputtered Pt as the catalytic material.Non-conventio...A flexible counter electrode(CE) for dye-sensitized solar cells(DSCs) has been fabricated using a micro-porous polyvinylidene fluoride membrane as support media and sputtered Pt as the catalytic material.Non-conventional structure DSCs have been developed by the fabricated CEs. The Pt metal was sputtered onto one surface of the membrane as the catalytic material. DSCs were assembled by attaching the Ti O2 electrode to the membrane surface without Pt coating. The membrane was with cylindrical pore geometry. It served not only as a substrate for the CE but also as a spacer for the DSC. The fabricated DSC with the flexible membrane CE showed higher photocurrent density than the conventional sandwich devices based on chemically deposited Pt/FTO glass, achieving a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 4.43%. The results provides useful information in investigation and development of stable, low-cost, simple-design, flexible and lightweight DSCs.展开更多
Silica aerogels are light weight, nanostructured, and highly porous materials with an open pore structure. Due to their excellent characteristics, such as extremely low thermal conductivity, low density and high poros...Silica aerogels are light weight, nanostructured, and highly porous materials with an open pore structure. Due to their excellent characteristics, such as extremely low thermal conductivity, low density and high porosity, the silica aerogels become promising potential adsorbents, catalysts, thermal insulation, and acoustic absorption materials for environmental purposes. This paper presents the synthesis of a highly flexible polymer modified silica aerogel with the use of a cellulose-methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) precursor in a two-step acid-base catalyzed sol-gel process. The physical properties of the resulting aerogels were characterized by thermogravimetry, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, contact angle, thermal conductivity measurements, compression testing and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The fabricated aerogel exhibited high flexibility with a Young’s modulus of compression of 0.33 MPa and the density of 0.132 g/cm3. They were hydrophobic in nature and had low thermal conductivity. Preparation of aerogel with solid waste (fly ash/bottom ash) is also discussed. The preliminary results showed that the materials have great potential for environmental application, i.e. enhancement of solid waste recycling rate by converting waste to high value-added materials, super thermal and acoustic insulation materials in green building and removal of oil spilled into surface drainage.展开更多
基金This work performed by the author was financially sup-ported by Singapore Ministry of Education innovation Fund(MOE2010-IF-027).
文摘Micro arc oxidation(MAO)coatings were formed on magnesium alloy AZ31B to improve the corrosion resistance using environmental friendly electrolyte solution under single-polar pulse power supply.The effect of electrical parameters of pulse frequency on the coating performance was studied at frequencies of 2.5 Hz,25 Hz and 250 Hz.The coating performance at different frequencies was characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDS)and potentiodynamic polarization testing method.It was found that the corrosion resistance of the MAO coatings was improved when increasing the pulse frequencies from 2.5 Hz to 250 Hz.The corrosion current in 250 Hz case decreased by three orders of magnitude as compared with bare Mg alloy and the corrosion impedance also increased remarkably,means significantly enhanced corrosion resistance than bare Mg alloy.The results give us more insight in the optimization of electrical parameters to improve the MAO coating performance.The MAO technology is attractive for application on magnesium and other light alloys for surface protection in automotive and space industries.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.10774046)Shanghai Municipal Science&Technology Committee(No.09JC1404600+1 种基金No.0852nm06100 and No.08230705400)Singapore Ministry of Education innovation fund(MOE IF Funding MOE2008-IF-1-016)
文摘A flexible counter electrode(CE) for dye-sensitized solar cells(DSCs) has been fabricated using a micro-porous polyvinylidene fluoride membrane as support media and sputtered Pt as the catalytic material.Non-conventional structure DSCs have been developed by the fabricated CEs. The Pt metal was sputtered onto one surface of the membrane as the catalytic material. DSCs were assembled by attaching the Ti O2 electrode to the membrane surface without Pt coating. The membrane was with cylindrical pore geometry. It served not only as a substrate for the CE but also as a spacer for the DSC. The fabricated DSC with the flexible membrane CE showed higher photocurrent density than the conventional sandwich devices based on chemically deposited Pt/FTO glass, achieving a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 4.43%. The results provides useful information in investigation and development of stable, low-cost, simple-design, flexible and lightweight DSCs.
文摘Silica aerogels are light weight, nanostructured, and highly porous materials with an open pore structure. Due to their excellent characteristics, such as extremely low thermal conductivity, low density and high porosity, the silica aerogels become promising potential adsorbents, catalysts, thermal insulation, and acoustic absorption materials for environmental purposes. This paper presents the synthesis of a highly flexible polymer modified silica aerogel with the use of a cellulose-methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) precursor in a two-step acid-base catalyzed sol-gel process. The physical properties of the resulting aerogels were characterized by thermogravimetry, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, contact angle, thermal conductivity measurements, compression testing and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The fabricated aerogel exhibited high flexibility with a Young’s modulus of compression of 0.33 MPa and the density of 0.132 g/cm3. They were hydrophobic in nature and had low thermal conductivity. Preparation of aerogel with solid waste (fly ash/bottom ash) is also discussed. The preliminary results showed that the materials have great potential for environmental application, i.e. enhancement of solid waste recycling rate by converting waste to high value-added materials, super thermal and acoustic insulation materials in green building and removal of oil spilled into surface drainage.
