Development of point diffraction interferometer by a dimension-reduction-based phase-shifting algorithm.

To avoid exhaustive calibration of the shifter device in point diffraction interferometers, we present a dimension-reduction-based method to reconstruct the phase map from more phase-shifting fringe patterns with three or more frames. The proposed method assumes that the intensity space can be described adequately by the sine and cosine of multiple phase shifts introduced, which are the basis of the intensity space. Then, low-dimensional approximations of high-dimensional intensity spaces are determined by the newly developed reduced basis decomposition technique. Finally, the phase is reconstructed using the low-dimensional surrogates of the intensity spaces without the knowledge of accurate phase steps. Numerical and experimental studies demonstrated that the proposed method outperforms the existing popular phase reconstruction techniques in terms of accuracy and efficiency. Moreover, the performance of the proposed method is not limited by variations in the background and modulation, unlike the existing phase-shifting-algorithm-based approaches.

SiO2 bridged AlN/methylphenyl silicone resin composite with integrated superior insulating property, high-temperature resistance, and high thermal conductivity.

A high-temperature-resistance insulating layer with high thermal conductivity is the key component for fabricating the instant metal-based electric heating tube. However, it is still a challenge for materials to possess excellent high-temperature resistance, superior insulating property, and high thermal conductivity at the same time. Here, a novel SiO2 bridged AlN/MSR composite based on methylphenyl silicone resin (MSR) and AlN filler was reported. MSR with a high thermal decomposition temperature of 452.0 °C and a high withstand voltage of 5.6 kV was first synthesized by adjusting the contents of alkyl and phenyl groups. The superior high-temperature resistant insulating property is 3.7 and 2.4 times higher than the national standard requirement of 1.5 kV and commercial silicone resin, respectively. The hydrogen bonds formed between SiO2, AlN, and MSR and the electrostatic adsorption between SiO2 and AlN can remarkably improve the uniform dispersion of AlN in MSR and thus enhance the insulating property, thermal conductivity, and thermal stability. With the addition of 2 wt% SiO2 and 50 wt% AlN, the SiO2-AlN/MSR composite exhibits an extremely high withstand voltage of 7.3 kV, a high thermal conductivity of 0.553 W·m-1·K-1, and an enhanced decomposition temperature of 475 °C. The superior insulating property and thermal conductivity are 4.9 and 1.3 times higher than the national standard requirement and pure MSR, respectively. This novel composite shows great potential for application in the fields requiring integrated superior insulating property, high-temperature resistance, and high thermal conductivity.

SnS@C nanoparticles anchored on graphene oxide as high-performance anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

Tin (II) sulfide (SnS) has been regarded as an attractive anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its high theoretical capacity. However, sulfide undergoes significant volume change during lithiation/delithiation, leading to rapid capacity degradation, which severely hinders its further practical application in lithium-ion batteries. Here, we report a simple and effective method for the synthesis of SnS@C/G composites, where SnS@C nanoparticles are strongly coupled onto the graphene oxide nanosheets through dopamine-derived carbon species. In such a designed architecture, the SnS@C/G composites show various advantages including buffering the volume expansion of Sn, suppressing the coarsening of Sn, and dissolving Li2S during the cyclic lithiation/delithiation process by graphene oxide and N-doped carbon. As a result, the SnS@C/G composite exhibits outstanding rate performance as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries with a capacity of up to 434 mAh g-1 at a current density of 5.0 A g-1 and excellent cycle stability with a capacity retention of 839 mAh g-1 at 1.0 A g-1 after 450 cycles.

Flexible conductive polypyrrole nanocomposite membranes based on bacterial cellulose with amphiphobicity.

Flexible conductive polypyrrole nanocomposite membranes based on bacterial cellulose (BC) with amphiphobicity have been successfully prepared through in situ chemical synthesis and then infiltrated with polysiloxane solution. The results suggested that polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles deposited on the surface of BC formed a continuous core-shell structure by taking along the BC template. After modification with polysiloxane, the surface characteristics of the conductive BC membranes changed from highly hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The AFM images revealed that the roughness of samples after polysiloxane treatment increased along with the increase of pyrrole concentration. The contact angles (CAs) data revealed that the highest water contact angle and highest oil contact angle are 160.3° and 136.7°, respectively. The conductivity of the amphiphobic membranes with excellent flexibility reached 0.32 S/cm and demonstrated a good electromagnetic shielding effectiveness with an SE of 15 dB which could be applied in electromagnetic shielding materials with self-cleaning properties. It opened a new field of potential applications of BC materials.