Theoretical and Experimental Aspects of Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Scientists are increasingly paying attention to using theoretical design as a guide combined with modern in-situ characterization techniques to develop catalysts with high activity, low cost, and long-term life. The review discusses the progress of catalyst theoretical design and corresponding experiments based on three typical oxygen evolution catalytic mechanisms, including the adsorbate evolution, lattice oxygen-mediated, and unconventional bifunctional mechanisms. This work briefly describes the commonly used tools and descriptors in theory as well as the electrochemical techniques and characterizations in experiments. Our purpose is to sort out the ways to closely integrate the theoretical method and experimental verification from the perspective of reaction mechanism, and to provide some experience reference for the future development of theoretical tools and experimental technologies.

Fabrication of triboelectric polymer films via repeated rheological forging for ultrahigh surface charge density.

Triboelectric polymer with high charge density is the foundation to promote the wide range of applications of triboelectric nanogenerators. This work develops a method to produce triboelectric polymer based on repeated rheological forging. The fluorinated ethylene propylene film fabricated by repeated forging method not only has excellent mechanical properties and good transmittance, but also can maintain an ultrahigh tribo-charge density. Based on the film with a thickness of 30 µm, the output charge density from contact-separation nanogenerator reaches 352 µC·m-2. Then, the same film is applied for the nanogenerator with air-breakdown mode and a charge density of 510 µC·m-2 is further achieved. The repeated forging method can effectively regulate the composition of surface functional groups, the crystallinity, and the dielectric constants of the fluorinated ethylene propylene, leading to the superior capability of triboelectrification. Finally, we summarize the key parameters for elevating the electrification performance on the basis of molecular structure and related fabrication crafts, which can guide the further development of triboelectric polymers.

Aluminum/vacuum multilayer configuration for spatial high-energy electron shielding via electron return effects induced by magnetic field.

Radiation shielding of high-energy electrons is critical for successful space missions. However, conventional passive shielding systems exhibit several limitations, such as heavy configuration, poor shielding ability, and strong secondary bremsstrahlung radiation. In this work, an aluminum/vacuum multilayer structure was proposed based on the electron return effects induced by magnetic field. The shielding property of several configurations was evaluated by using the Monte Carlo method. Results showed that multilayer systems presented improved shielding ability to electrons, and less secondary x-ray transmissions than those of conventional systems. Moreover, the influences of magnetic flux density and number of layers on the shielding property of multilayer systems were investigated using a female Chinese hybrid reference phantom based on cumulative dose. In the case of two aluminum layers, the cumulative dose in a phantom gradually decreased with increasing magnetic flux density. The maximum decline rate was found within 0.4-1 Tesla. With increasing layers of configuration, the cumulative dose decreased and the shielding ability improved. This research provides effective shielding measures for future space radiation protection in high-energy electron environments.

Graphene damage effects on radiation-resistance and configuration of copper-graphene nanocomposite under irradiation: A molecular dynamics study.

Metal-graphene nanocomposite is a kind of potential radiation tolerant material. Graphene damage of the composite is inevitable within radiation environments. In this paper, two kinds of copper-graphene nanocomposite (CGNC) systems containing perfect graphene and prefabricated damage graphene, respectively, were adopted to expound the influences of graphene damage on the properties (radiation-resistance and configuration) of CGNC under irradiation by atomistic simulations. In the CGNC containing perfect graphene, the increasing graphene damage induced by the increase of the number of cascades, did not obviously impair the role of copper-graphene interface in keeping the properties of CGNC. In the CGNC containing prefabricated damage graphene, the properties of CGNC would significantly deteriorate once the radius of prefabricated damage exceeds 10 Å, and even stacking fault tetrahedral would occur in the CGNC. The results highlighted that prefabricated graphene damage have greater effects on the change of the properties of CGNC. Therefore, it is very necessary to maintain the structural integrity of graphene for improving the radiation-resistance and configuration of CGNC.

Formation of He-Rich Layers Observed by Neutron Reflectometry in the He-Ion-Irradiated Cr/W Multilayers: Effects of Cr/W Interfaces on the He-Trapping Behavior.

Cr/W multilayer nanocomposites were presented in the paper as potential candidate materials for the plasma facing components in fusion reactors. We used neutron reflectometry to measure the depth profile of helium in the multienergy He ions irradiated [Cr/W (50 nm)]3 multilayers. Results showed that He-rich layers with low neutron scattering potential energy form at the Cr/W interfaces, which is in great agreement with previous modeling results of other multilayers. This phenomenon provided a strong evidence for the He trapping effects of Cr/W interfaces and implied the possibility of using the Cr/W multilayer nanocomposites as great He-tolerant plasma facing materials.