Improved Energy Storage Property of Sandwich-Structured Poly(vinylidene fluoride)-Based Composites by Introducing Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3@TiO2 Whiskers.

In recent years, high-energy-density polymer-based capacitors have received extensive attention because of their potential applications in advanced power systems and electronic equipment. However, their development is severely hampered by the inherent features of polymers such as low polarization and low charge-discharge efficiency (η). In this study, a new strategy for core-shell Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3(NBT)@TiO2(TO) whiskers combined with sandwich-structured poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based dielectric composites is proposed, in which the middle layer is the PVDF-based composites filled with different fractions of NBT@TO whiskers and the outer layers are pristine PVDF. The experimental results show that the loading of NBT@TO whiskers can simultaneously optimize electrical displacement and breakdown strength of the sandwich-structured composite due to the additional interfacial polarization and the contribution of the barrier effect between adjacent layers. Thus, a significantly improved electric displacement of ∼13.99 µC cm-2, a maximum discharge energy density (Ud) of ∼15.42 J cm-3 at a low electric field of 314 MV m-1, and a high charging-discharging efficiency (η ∼ 66.12%) can be obtained from the composite with the middle layer containing 6 wt % NBT@TO whiskers. This research provides a strategy for the preparation of advanced polymer-based composites with a superior discharge energy density in the future.

Fabrication of one-dimensional M (Co, Ni)@polyaniline nanochains with adjustable thickness for excellent microwave absorption properties.

The development of microwave absorbing materials with strong absorption capacity, wide bandwidth and light weight has always been a topic of concern. Herein, one-dimensional (1D) M (Co, Ni)@polyaniline (PANI) nanochains (NCs) with adjustable thickness have been successfully synthesized by reducing the mental ions under a parallel magnetic field, pretreating metal nanochains with KH550 and pre-oxidization of aniline monomer. It is found that Co has a more favorable absorption width for electromagnetic waves (EMW) and Ni aims at the absorption intensity. Furthermore, the effect of metal elements on adjusting impedance matching is more significant than their magnetic loss for composites. The minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of CoP2 can be up to -73.16 dB at 4.63 mm and the effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) is 4.98 GHz at 2.17 mm, while those of NiP2 are -65.06 dB at 3.88 mm and 5.02 GHz at 2.05 mm. The increase of PANI content can significantly reduce the matching thickness. And the RLmin of CoP3 and NiP3 can reach -58.72 dB at 2.32 mm and -65.96 dB at 1.59 mm, respectively. The absorption mechanism reveals that the matching thickness of the quarter-wavelength determines frequency location. And high absorption intensity is attributed to the synergistic effects of impedance matching, conduction loss, polarization loss, and magnetic loss. This work provides a theoretical basis for designing PANI or other conducting polymers coating magnetic nanochains for electromagnetic absorbing materials with strong absorption capacity, wide bandwidth and light weight.

One-Pot Self-Templated Growth of Gold Nanoframes for Enhanced Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Performance.

As one of the representative metallic hollow nanostructures, Au nanoframes have shown fascinating properties such as strong localized surface plasmon resonance associated with emerging applications such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors. In this study, for the first time, a facile one-pot synthetic approach for hollow Au nanoframes is demonstrated by directly etching Au nanoplates, that is, the so-called self-templates. A novel growth mechanism has been revealed that involves a synergistic function of Ag and Br ions. The presence of Ag+ leads to the observation of self-limiting Au film thickness, whereas Au{111} facets are preferentially attacked by the presence of Br- in the reaction ambient. More importantly, graphene is introduced to prevent/minimize aggregation during the formation of Au nanoframes. The combined simulation and experimental studies show that the hybrid platform made of graphene/Au nanoframes is capable of detecting analytes at concentration levels down to 10-9 M by using the SERS technique.

Internal Relations between Crystal Structures and Intrinsic Properties of Nonstoichiometric Ba1+ xMoO4 Ceramics.

Ba1+ xMoO4 (-0.03 ≤ x ≤ 0.03) ceramics were fabricated by a conventional two-step sintering technique. X-ray diffraction patterns show that there appeared new diffraction peaks when x > 0, which were identified as Ba2MoO5. The Rietveld refinement results indicate that the unit cell volume is the largest at x = -0.02, because it has the lowest packing fraction and covalency. The far-infrared reflectivity (IR) spectra were fitted and analyzed for calculating the intrinsic properties, which comply well with the data obtained from microscopic polarizabilities and damping coefficient angle. The proportion of each mode in the dielectric response demonstrates that the Ba-O8 polyhedra have a decisive role on the dielectric properties. And based on the Raman modes, the internal relations of the structural-properties were revealed with the changes of Ba2+ content.

Ultrasonication-assisted synthesis of high aspect ratio gold nanowires on a graphene template and investigation of their growth mechanism.

We report a facile synthesis of Au nanowires (AuNWs) with a high aspect ratio (l/D) of up to 5000 on a plasma activated graphene template with ultrasound assistance. We demonstrate that the ultrasonication induced symmetry breaking of Au clusters facilitates the growth of AuNWs from the embryonic stages. Furthermore, the growth mechanism of AuNWs is systematically investigated using high resolution electron transmission microscopy (HRTEM), which reveals the unique role of the defective graphene template in directing the growth of AuNWs.

One-Step Synthesis of Tunable-Size Gold Nanoplates on Graphene Multilayers.

Au nanoplates (quasi-two-dimensional single crystals) are most commonly synthesized using a mixture of Au precursors via approaches involving multiple processing steps and the use of seed crystals. Here, we report the synthesis of truncated-hexagonal {111}-oriented micrometer-scale Au nanoplates on graphene multilayers using only potassium tetrabromoaurate (KAuBr4) as the precursor. We demonstrate that the nanoplate sizes can be controllably varied from tens of nanometers up to a few micrometers by introducing desired concentrations of chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) to KAuBr4 and their thicknesses from ∼13 to ∼46 nm with the synthesis time. Through a series of experiments carried out as a function of synthesis time and precursor composition [mixtures of HAuCl4 and KAuBr4, KBr, or ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([Bmim]Br)], we identify the optimal HAuCl4 and KAuBr4 concentrations and synthesis times that yield the largest and the thinnest size nanoplates. We show that the nanoplates are kinetically limited morphologies resulting from preferential growth of {111} facets facilitated by bromide ions in KAuBr4 solutions; we suggest that the presence of chloride ions enhances the rate of Au deposition and the relative concentration of chloride and bromide ions determines the shape anisotropy of resulting crystals. Our results provide new insights into the kinetics of nanoplate formation and show that a single precursor containing both Au and Br is sufficient to crystallize nanoplates on graphitic layers, which serve as reducing agent while enabling the nucleation and growth of Au nanoplates. We suggest that a similar approach may be used for the synthesis of nanoplates of other metals on weakly interacting van der Waals layers for, potentially, a variety of new applications.

Graphene template-induced growth of single-crystalline gold nanobelts with high structural tunability.

Assembling Au nanocrystals with tunable dimensions and shapes on graphene templates has attracted increasing attention recently. However, directly growing anisotropic Au nanobelts on a graphene support has been rarely reported. Here, a facile, one-pot, and surfactant-free route is demonstrated to synthesize well-defined Au nanobelts with the induction of a multilayer graphene (mlG) template. The obtained Au nanobelts are single-crystalline with a preferable (111) orientation. More importantly, their structural evolution starting from Au clusters is systematically investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results confirm that mlG consistently induces the growth of Au nanobelts from nucleation to the growth completion. The interfacial interaction between Au atoms and the graphene lattice is a predominant factor to direct the shapes and structures of Au nanocrystals, which makes the structures of Au nanobelts highly tunable with the surface modification of the mlG template. The assembly of mlG-Au nanobelts also presents extraordinary detection sensitivity when employed as a flexible surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate, suggesting their great potential application in high-performance sensors. This report strengthens the fundamental understanding of the interactions between noble metals and carbon interfaces, which paves the way to construct and manipulate the complex structures of metals on graphitic substrates.

Structure, Intrinsic properties and Vibrational Spectra of Pr(Mg1/2Sn1/2)O3 Ceramic Crystal.

Pr(Mg1/2Sn1/2)O3 (PMS) ceramic was prepared through a conventional solid-state reaction method. Crystal structure was investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD), which certificates that the main phase is PMS with monoclinic P2 1/n1 symmetry. Lattice vibrational modes were obtained through Raman scattering spectroscopy and Fourier transform far-infrared reflection spectroscopy. The Raman spectrum active modes were assigned and illustrated, respectively, and then fitted with Lorentzian function. The four modes within the range of 110-200 cm-1 are derived from the F 2g vibrations (A-site cations), and the other three modes (300-430 cm-1) are derived from the F 2g vibrations (B-site cations).The mode with highest frequency above 650 cm-1 is attributed to A 1g -like mode that corresponds to the symmetric breathing of oxygen octahedral. The far-infrared spectrum with seven infrared active modes was fitted using four-parameter semi-quantum models to calculate intrinsic properties (permittivity and loss). F 2u(2) yielded the greatest contribution to dielectric constant and loss, which is mainly performed as the inverted translational vibration of Pr-MgO6 octahedron.

All-organic electrostrictive polymer composites with low driving electrical voltages for micro-fluidic pump applications.

This paper focuses on the improvement of a relaxor ferroelectric terpolymer, i.e., poly (vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorofluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE-CFE)], filled with a bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). The developed material gave rise to a significantly increased longitudinal electrostrictive strain, as well as an increased mechanical energy density under a relatively low electric field. These features were attributed to the considerably enhanced dielectric permittivity and a decreased Young modulus as a result of the introduction of only small DEHP plasticizer molecules. In addition, the plasticizer-filled terpolymer only exhibited a slight decrease of the dielectric breakdown strength, which was a great advantage with respect to the traditional polymer-based electrostrictive composites. More importantly, the approach proposed herein is promising for the future development and scale-up of new high-performance electrostrictive dielectrics under low applied electrical fields through modification simply by blending with a low-cost plasticizer. An experimental demonstration based on a flexible micro-fluidic application is described at the end of this paper, confirming the attractive characteristics of the proposed materials as well as the feasibility of integrating them as micro-actuators in small-scale devices.