Study on the Mechanical Properties and Strengthening Mechanism of Interface-Modified Carbon Fiber Mesh Reinforced Cement-Based Composites with SCA&HMC.

Carbon fiber mesh reinforced cement-based composites (CMCCs) have received extensive attention in the field of engineering repair and structural reinforcement due to their outstanding properties such as two-way force, rust prevention, high specific strength, and low base surface requirements. However, the development of this material has been slowed down to some extent due to the poor interfacial bonding between the carbon fiber mesh and the cement matrix. In this paper, a novel fabrication strategy was proposed in which the carbon fiber mesh was modified with epoxy resin and silane coupling agent (SCA) to increase its surface chemical activity. Meanwhile, the hydroxymethyl cellulose (HMC) was also filled into the concrete matrix to improve the mechanical strength of the matrix as well as the load transfer behaviors between the mortar and carbon fiber (CF) mesh. The potential to employ SCA and HMC was evaluated for the making of CMCCs via the above methods. The results showed that the longitudinal shear strength of composites with SCA and SCA&HMC increased by 26.6% and 56.1% compared to those of CF with epoxy resin (EP) reinforced composites, respectively. The flexural strength of composite with SCA&HMC increases by 147.6% compared to I-(F) without CF. The novel II-HCM&CF/EP-SCA composites with excellent performance are promised to be applied in practical uses.

Distorted 1T-ReS2 Nanosheets Anchored on Porous TiO2 Nanofibers for Highly Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production.

Recently, loading TiO2 with transition-metal disulfides (TMDs) to construct dual functional heterostructures has been widely researched as an effective strategy to improve the photocatalytic performance of a TiO2 photocatalyst. For the TMD cocatalysts, the 2H-MoS2 and 1T-MoS2 have been widely studied and researched. However, they suffer from poor catalytic activity sites/low charge transfer ability and an unstable structure. In this regard, distorted 1T-phase TMDs with a stable structure are greatly fit for the cocatalyst due to their high charge transfer ability and rich catalytic sites on both the edge and basal plane. Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop distorted 1T-phase TMD/TiO2 heterostructures with well-identified interfaces for highly enhanced photocatalytic performance. Herein, we first introduce distorted 1T-ReS2 anchored on porous TiO2 nanofibers as a promising photocatalyst for achieving an excellent photocatalytic hydrogen production. The excellent performance is attributed to the strong chemical interaction of the Ti-O-Re bond between TiO2 and ReS2, the excellent electron mobility of distorted 1T-ReS2, and the abundant catalytic activity sites on both the plane and edge of the ReS2 cocatalyst.