Influence of Sodium Ions and Carbon Black on the Formation and Structural Color of Photonic Balls by Silica Particles.

In this study, photonic balls─spherical aggregates of submicrometer-sized silica particles with uniform particle size─were investigated as structural colored materials. The structural color of these photonic balls is influenced by the ordered arrangement of the silica particles. The research focused on how the addition of electrolytes, specifically NaCl, affects the formation of photonic balls to achieve the desired structural color. Without NaCl, the photonic balls formed onion-shaped colloidal crystals. At NaCl concentrations above 0.006 mol/L, the particles aggregated into short-range ordered structures. When the concentration exceeded 0.05 mol/L, the aggregates lost their spherical shape. The study also explored the addition of carbon black (CB), a water-dispersible material due to its surface charge. The findings revealed that NaCl induced the phase separation between the charged silica particles and CB, resulting in Janus-shaped photonic balls─one side exhibiting structural color and the other side appearing black due to the presence of CB. Changing the silica particle size altered the hues of these Janus-shaped photonic balls, though they appeared uniformly colored to the naked eye. While this study did not specifically examine the applications of Janus-shaped photonic balls composed of silica particles and CB, CB is known for its ability to absorb near-infrared radiation and convert it into heat as well as its conductive properties. Silica, on the other hand, has a low thermal conductivity and acts as an electrical insulator. The structurally colored Janus-shaped photonic balls created in this study may serve as pigments in applications requiring anisotropic heat generation and electrical conduction. Additionally, the study's findings suggest the potential for creating various types of Janus-shaped photonic balls from materials with differing densities.

Optically Transparent and Color-Stable Elastomer with Structural Coloration under Elongation.

Optically transparent and colored elastomers with high toughness are expected to play an important role in the construction of advanced medical materials, wearable displays, and soft robots. In this study, we found that composite elastomers consisting of amorphous SiO2 particles homogeneously dispersed in high concentrations within a biocompatible acrylic polymer network exhibit optical transparency and bright structural colors. In the composite elastomers, the system in which the SiO2 particles form a colloidal amorphous array hardly changes its structural color hue despite deformation due to elongation. Furthermore, the composite elastomer of the SiO2 particles with the acrylic polymer network also results in high mechanical toughness. In summary, we have shown that the elastomer that exhibits fade-resistant structural coloration formed from safe materials can combine stable coloration and mechanical strength independent of their shape. This is expected to have new potential in future technologies to support our daily life.

Circularly Polarized Luminescence Chirality Inversion and Dual Anticounterfeiting Labels Based on Fluorescent Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Particles.

The development of materials with circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) properties is a promising but challenging frontier in advanced materials science. Modulating the chiral properties of chiral polymers has also been a focus of research. Studies have been conducted to control the ground-state chirality of chiral polymers by adjusting the concentration of the chiral dopant. However, the chirality inversion of CPL of fluorescent liquid crystal particles by chiral dopant concentration has not been reported. Here, we report the preparation of fluorescent cholesteric liquid crystal (FCLC) particles that display polarizable structural color and CPL, demonstrating how varying the chiral dopant amount can reverse the CPL direction, leading to systems where the rotation directions of polarizable structural color and CPL either align or differ. This study confirmed the critical role played by the formation of the twist grain boundary phase in inducing the inversion of the ground-state chirality of FCLC particles and, subsequently, triggering the inversion process of CPL chirality. Furthermore, it leverages chiral structural color and fluorescence of FCLC particles to develop a sophisticated dual verification system. This system, utilizing both circularly polarized light and fluorescence, offers enhanced anticounterfeiting protection for high-value items.

Nano-Film-Forming Plugging Drilling Fluid and Bridging Cross-Linking Plugging Agent Are Used to Strengthen Wellbores in Complex Formations.

Lost circulation is one of the great challenges during the drilling process as it can not only increase the risk of drilling operations but also cause an increase in drilling costs, thus greatly affecting the drilling efficiency. Wellbore strengthening has been widely used to prevent lost circulation, which ultimately expands the mud density window by increasing the formation fracture pressure. This paper proposes a combination of "preventive" wellbore strengthening and "remedial" wellbore strengthening to prevent leakage and plug and stabilize wellbores by means of summarizing the characteristics of lost circulation and wellbore instability in the Hasan area. The formula of the bridging cross-linking plugging agent is determined by experiments as well slurry + 8-10% granular material + 3-5% fiber material + 2-4% elastic material + 0.5-1% cementing material. The formula of the nano-film-forming plugging drilling fluid is determined to be 3% bentonite + 0.2NaOH + 0.2% KPAM + 3% SMP + 1% PB-1 + 2% SMNA-1 + 2% lubricant SMLUB-1 + 1% modified nano-SiO2 particles. Then, the performance evaluation of the composite system is carried out by the high-temperature and high-pressure plugging simulation evaluation device. The results show that the bridging and cross-linking plugging agent can effectively block the 1-3 mm crack, the pressure-bearing capacity is greater than 10 MPa, and the anti-liquid return capacity is greater than 4 MPa. The nano-film-forming plugging drilling fluid has lower fluid loss and better rheological properties.

Wellbore Flow Model and Process Optimization for Gas-Lift Leakage Drilling for Shallow Shale Formations.

The shallow surface karst landform in the Nanchuan-China shale gas area, with developed caves and underground rivers, frequently lost circulation during the drilling operation. To solve the issue, first, according to the actual drilling engineering, this paper analyzes the geological factors and drilling and completion characteristics, optimizes the construction plan, and suggests a new technology for gas-lift leakage drilling based on double-wall drill pipes. Second, a distributed coupling improved Beggs-Brill gas-liquid-solid multiphase flow model is established. This model is used to complete the optimization design of the gas-lift leakage penetration construction scheme of the well sy20-2. Finally, the accuracy, process feasibility, and effect of the model are verified after the field application. The test results show that this method can establish a full drilling fluid circulation without plugging the leakage, control the leakage rate to within 0.5 m3/h, more than 90% reduction in the loss of circulation, and significantly shorten the nonproduction time limit with good application prospects.

Bioinspired Color Elastomers Combining Structural, Dye, and Background Colors.

Organisms that alter body color undergo color change in response to environmental variations and stimuli by combining chromatophores that develop colors by various mechanisms. Inspired by their body color changes, we can develop sensors and optical materials that change colors in response to multiple stimuli, such as mechanical and light stimuli. In this study, we report on bioinspired composite elastomers that exhibit various color changes as the pigment color, structural color, and background color change. These composite elastomers exhibit structural colors due to their fine structures in which fine silica particles form colloidal crystals, and the structural colors reversibly change as the elastomers elongate. Furthermore, photochromic dyes can reversibly change color depending on the wavelength of irradiated light when they are introduced to the composite elastomers. Since the structural color is one of the three primary colors of light and the pigment color is the color that corresponds to the three primary colors of a pigment, each color becomes vivid when the background color is black or white. Thus, we clarify that the composite elastomers exhibit various color changes due to the combination of structural color change in response to the mechanical stimulus, pigment color change in response to light irradiation, and background color change.