Wenjun Zhu

Ag2O/TiO2/V2O5 one-dimensional nanoheterostructures for superior solar light photocatalytic activity

Titanium dioxide has attracted considerable interest as a prototypical semiconductor photocatalyst. However, because of the relative large bandgap energy, further application of TiO2 photocatalyst is limited by its inefficient solar energy conversion. Various attempts have been made to broaden the light absorption window of the TiO2, such as growth of TiO2-based heterostructures. Herein, a novel three-component system, Ag2O/TiO2/V2O5 one-dimensional nanoheterostructures with enhanced solar light absorption, is prepared by depositing Ag2O nanoparticles onto the surface of TiO2/V2O5 nanofibers through a two-step synthetic process. This three-component system exhibits excellent solar-driven photocatalytic activity, far exceeding those of the single- and two-component systems, as a result of extended solar light absorption and efficient electron-hole separation. Furthermore, the photocatalytic performance of Ag2O/TiO2/V2O5 one-dimensional nanoheterostructures is very stable for recycling use.

Ag/TiO2 nanofiber heterostructures: Highly enhanced photocatalysts under visible light

Photocatalysis of TiO2 has recently drawn considerable attention, while the photoefficiency of TiO2 is limited by its large band-gap energy and usually fast electron-hole recombination. Here, we present an unconventional heterostructure of Ag nanoparticles modified TiO2 nanofibers synthesized by one-step electrospinning process, to improve the photoefficiency of TiO2 host. The efficient promotion of the visible light photocatalysis of Ag/TiO2 nanofiber heterostructures can be ascribed to the electronic excitation of Ag nanoparticles under visible light and the transfer of the electrons to TiO2 conduction band, which deeply depends on the number of Ag/TiO2 junctions and the height of Schottky barrier. The Ag/Ti molar ratio can be easily controlled by the electrospinning process and the Ag/TiO2 nanofibers with Ag/Ti molar ratio of 0.05 exhibit the highest photocatalytic activity. Simultaneously, the Ag/TiO2 nanofiber heterostructures show excellent photocatalytic stability.

A novel ethanol gas sensor based on TiO2/Ag0.35V2O5 branched nanoheterostructures.

Much greater surface-to-volume ratio of hierarchical nanostructures renders them attract considerable interest as prototypical gas sensors. In this work, a novel resistive gas sensor based on TiO2/Ag0.35V2O5 branched nanoheterostructures is fabricated by a facile one-step synthetic process and the ethanol sensing performance of this device is characterized systematically, which shows faster response/recovery behavior, better selectivity, and higher sensitivity of about 9 times as compared to the pure TiO2 nanofibers. The enhanced sensitivity of the TiO2/Ag0.35V2O5 branched nanoheterostructures should be attributed to the extraordinary branched hierarchical structures and TiO2/Ag0.35V2O5 heterojunctions, which can eventually result in an obvious change of resistance upon ethanol exposure. This study not only indicates the gas sensing mechanism for performance enhancement of branched nanoheterostructures, but also proposes a rational approach to design nanostructure based chemical sensors with desirable performance.

Hardness and elastic moduli of high pressure synthesized MoB2 and WB2 compacts

High pressure and high temperature synthesized MoB2 and WB2 compacts were investigated using X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscope, scanning electron microscope, Vickers indentation test and ultrasonic measurements. Experiments showed that both MoB2 and WB2 compacts are phase pure and with a grain size of 100–200 nm. Vickers indentation test under a large loading force of 49 N showed that the Vickers hardness of MoB2 and WB2 are about 21 and 22 GPa, respectively. The bulk modulus and shear modulus are about 296 GPa, and 190 GPa for MoB2 and 349 and 200 GPa for WB2 through ultrasonic measurements. Our results indicate that MoB2 and WB2 are both hard materials with a hardness similar to that of tungsten carbide, which is widely used in industry.

A high-response ethanol gas sensor based on one-dimensional TiO2/V2O5 branched nanoheterostructures.

Hierarchical nanostructures with much increased surface-to-volume ratio have been of significant interest for prototypical gas sensors. Herein we report a novel resistive gas sensor based on TiO2/V2O5 branched nanoheterostructures fabricated by a facile one-step synthetic process, in which well-matched energy levels induced by the formation of effective heterojunctions between TiO2 and V2O5, a large Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area and complete electron depletion for the V2O5 nanobranches induced by the branched-nanofiber structures are all beneficial to the change of resistance upon ethanol exposure. As a result, the ethanol sensing performance of this device shows a lower operating temperature, faster response/recovery behavior, better selectivity and about seven times higher sensitivity compared with pure TiO2 nanofibers. This study not only confirms the gas sensing mechanism for performing enhancement of branched nanoheterostructures, but also proposes a rational approach to the design of nanostructure-based chemical sensors with desirable performance.

Refractive index of r-cut sapphire under shock pressure range 5 to 65 GPa

High-pressure refractive index of optical window materials not only can provide information on electronic polarizability and band-gap structure, but also is important for velocity correction in particle-velocity measurement with laser interferometers. In this work, the refractive index of r-cut sapphire window at 1550 nm wavelength was measured under shock pressures of 5–65 GPa. The refractive index (n) decreases linearly with increasing shock density (ρ) for shock stress above the Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL): n = 2.0485 (± 0.0197) − 0.0729 (± 0.0043)ρ, while n remains nearly a constant for elastic shocks. This behavior is attributed to the transition from elastic (below HEL) to heterogeneous plastic deformation (above HEL). Based on the obtained refractive index-density relationship, polarizability of the shocked sapphire was also obtained.

TiO2-Based Nanoheterostructures for Promoting Gas Sensitivity Performance: Designs, Developments, and Prospects

Gas sensors based on titanium dioxide (TiO2) have attracted much public attention during the past decades due to their excellent potential for applications in environmental pollution remediation, transportation industries, personal safety, biology, and medicine. Numerous efforts have therefore been devoted to improving the sensing performance of TiO2. In those effects, the construct of nanoheterostructures is a promising tactic in gas sensing modification, which shows superior sensing performance to that of the single component-based sensors. In this review, we briefly summarize and highlight the development of TiO2-based heterostructure gas sensing materials with diverse models, including semiconductor/semiconductor nanoheterostructures, noble metal/semiconductor nanoheterostructures, carbon-group-materials/semiconductor nano- heterostructures, and organic/inorganic nanoheterostructures, which have been investigated for effective enhancement of gas sensing properties through the increase of sensitivity, selectivity, and stability, decrease of optimal work temperature and response/recovery time, and minimization of detectable levels.

Nanostructured diamond-TiC composites with high fracture toughness

We report the preparation of nanostructured diamond-TiC composites with high fracture toughness and high hardness starting from a ball-milled mixture of nano-sized Ti3SiC2 and submicron-sized diamond by simultaneously tuning the pressure-temperature conditions. The phase segregation of Ti3SiC2 at pressure of 5.5 GPa were investigated by X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy, we found that the Ti3SiC2 could decompose into nanosized TiC and amorphous Ti-Si at 600–700 °C. The subsequent reaction between diamond and Ti-Si led to an amorphous Ti-Si-C matrix in which diamond and TiC crystals are embedded. With a loading force of 98 N, the measured fracture toughness KIC and Vickers hardness HV of the synthesized composites reach up to 14 MPa m1/2 and 45.5 GPa, respectively. Our results demonstrate that the nanocrystalline/amorphous bonding matrix could largely enhance the toughness of the brittle composites.

Shock-induced phase transitions of α-Ce3Al

A series of shock compression experiments on hexagonal α-Ce3Al have been carried out using a two-stage light gas gun. No phase transition was observed in the recovered sample shock compressed at 23.5 GPa. However, as the shock pressure was increased to 27.3 GPa, a face-centered cubic Ce3Al phase was detected in the samples recovered at ambient conditions. Furthermore, a Ce2Al phase was found in the 37.1 GPa shocked sample with a space group Fd-3m and lattice parameter a = 8.26(1) A. These Ce-based alloys may have potential industrial applications due to the heavy-fermion related properties.

Refractive index and phase transformation of sapphire under shock pressures up to 210 GPa

Under shock pressures up to 210 GPa, we measured the refractive index of sapphire at a wavelength of 1550 nm by performing plate impact experiments in order to investigate its refractive-index change behaviors and phase transitions along the Hugoniot state. There were two discontinuities in the refractive index at ∼65 to 92 GPa and ∼144 to 163 GPa, respectively. Moreover, above the Hugoniot elastic limit, the pressure dependence of the refractive index was divided into three segments, and there were large differences in their pressure-change trends: the refractive index decreased evidently with pressure in the first segment (∼20 to 65 GPa), remained nearly constant from ∼92 to ∼144 GPa in the second segment, and obviously increased with pressure in the last segment (∼163 to 210 GPa). Our first-principles calculations suggest that the observed discontinuities were closely related to the corundum-Rh2O3(II) and Rh2O3(II)-CaIrO3 structural transitions, and the shock-induced vacancy point defects could be one ...