Showing papers by "Donghua University published in 2012"

Highly Conductive and Porous Activated Reduced Graphene Oxide Films for High-Power Supercapacitors

Abstract: We present a novel method to prepare highly conductive, free-standing, and flexible porous carbon thin films by chemical activation of reduced graphene oxide paper. These flexible carbon thin films possess a very high specific surface area of 2400 m2 g–1 with a high in-plane electrical conductivity of 5880 S m–1. This is the highest specific surface area for a free-standing carbon film reported to date. A two-electrode supercapacitor using these carbon films as electrodes demonstrated an excellent high-frequency response, an extremely low equivalent series resistance on the order of 0.1 ohm, and a high-power delivery of about 500 kW kg–1. While higher frequency and power values for graphene materials have been reported, these are the highest values achieved while simultaneously maintaining excellent specific capacitances and energy densities of 120 F g–1 and 26 W h kg–1, respectively. In addition, these free-standing thin films provide a route to simplify the electrode-manufacturing process by eliminating...

Incorporation of manganese dioxide within ultraporous activated graphene for high-performance electrochemical capacitors.

Abstract: Manganese dioxide (MnO2) particles 2–3 nm in size were deposited onto a porous “activated microwave expanded graphite oxide” (aMEGO) carbon scaffold via a self-controlled redox process. Symmetric electrochemical capacitors were fabricated that yielded a specific capacitance of 256 F/g (volumetric: 640 F/cm3) and a capacitance retention of 87.7% after 1000 cycles in 1 M H2SO4; when normalized to MnO2, the specific capacitance was 850 F/g. Asymmetric electrochemical capacitors were also fabricated with aMEGO/MnO2 as the positive electrode and aMEGO as the negative electrode and had a power density of 32.3 kW/kg (for an energy density of 20.8 Wh/kg), an energy density of 24.3 Wh/kg (for a power density of 24.5 kW/kg), and a capacitance retention of 80.5% over 5000 cycles.

Nitrogen doping of graphene and its effect on quantum capacitance, and a new insight on the enhanced capacitance of N-doped carbon

Abstract: Many researchers have used nitrogen (N) as a dopant and/or N-containing functional groups to enhance the capacitance of carbon electrodes of electrical double layer (EDL) capacitors. However, the physical mechanism(s) giving rise to the interfacial capacitance of the N-containing carbon electrodes is not well understood. Here, we show that the area-normalized capacitance of lightly N-doped activated graphene with similar porous structure increased from 6 μF cm−2 to 22 μF cm−2 with 0 at%, and 2.3 at% N-doping, respectively. The quantum capacitance of pristine single layer graphene and various N-doped graphene was measured and a trend of upwards shifts of the Dirac Point with increasing N concentration was observed. The increase in bulk capacitance with increasing N concentration, and the increase of the quantum capacitance in the N-doped monolayer graphene versus pristine monolayer graphene suggests that the increase in the EDL type of capacitance of many, if not all, N-doped carbon electrodes studied to date, is primarily due to the modification of the electronic structure of the graphene by the N dopant. It was further found that the quantum capacitance is closely related to the N dopant concentration and N-doping provides an effective way to increase the density of the states of monolayer graphene.

Graphene oxide: the mechanisms of oxidation and exfoliation

Abstract: Graphene oxides (GOs) with large sheets and more perfect aromatic structure were prepared by a novel modified Hummers method. We demonstrated that the graphite did not need to be oxidized to such a deep degree as described in Hummers method because the space distance increased little when the oxidation proceeded to a certain extent and the obtained graphite oxides (GTOs) could be fully exfoliated to single layers with high thermal stability. The oxidation mechanism and chemical structure model of GO were proposed by analyzing the evolution of the functional groups with oxidation proceeded based on thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The layer spacing calculated by molecular dynamics simulations coincided with the X-ray diffraction results. Furthermore, the size distribution and thickness of GOs were also studied. The results confirmed that the GOs prepared by the modified method were fully exfoliated to uniform single layers, and this method may be important for efficient exfoliation of GTO to GO and large-scale production of graphene.

Microwave Absorption Enhancement of Porous Carbon Fibers Compared with Carbon Nanofibers

Abstract: Porous carbon fibers (pores of: 0.1–3 μm in diameter) and carbon nanofibers (∼100 nm in diameter) were prepared from polyacrylonitrile/polymethyl methacrylate (PAN/PMMA) blend fibers with 70/30 and...

Copper-Catalyzed Direct C–H Oxidative Trifluoromethylation of Heteroarenes

Abstract: This article describes the copper-catalyzed oxidative trifluoromethylation of heteroarenes and highly electron-deficient arenes with CF3SiMe3 through direct C–H activation. In the presence of catalyst Cu(OAc)2, ligand 1,10-phenanthroline and cobases tert-BuONa/NaOAc, oxidative trifluoromethylation of 1,3,4-oxadiazoles with CF3SiMe3 proceeded smoothly using either air or di-tert-butyl peroxide as an oxidant to give the corresponding trifluoromethylated 1,3,4-oxadiazoles in high yields. Di-tert-butyl peroxide was chosen as the suitable oxidant for oxidative trifluoromethylation of 1,3-azoles and perfluoroarenes. Cu(OH)2 and Ag2CO3 were the best catalyst and oxidant for direct oxidative trifluoromethyaltion of indoles. The optimum reaction conditions enable oxidative trifluoromethylation of a range of heteroarenes that bear numerous functional groups. The prepared trifluoromethylated heteroarenes are of importance in the areas of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. The preliminary mechanistic studies of these...

Sampled-Data Synchronization Control of Dynamical Networks With Stochastic Sampling

Abstract: This technical note is concerned with the sampled-data synchronization control problem for a class of dynamical networks. The sampling period considered here is assumed to be time-varying that switches between two different values in a random way with given probability. The addressed synchronization control problem is first formulated as an exponentially mean-square stabilization problem for a new class of dynamical networks that involve both the multiple probabilistic interval delays (MPIDs) and the sector-bounded nonlinearities (SBNs). Then, a novel Lyapunov functional is constructed to obtain sufficient conditions under which the dynamical network is exponentially mean-square stable. Both Gronwall's inequality and Jenson integral inequality are utilized to substantially simplify the derivation of the main results. Subsequently, a set of sampled-data synchronization controllers is designed in terms of the solution to certain matrix inequalities that can be solved effectively by using available software. Finally, a numerical simulation example is employed to show the effectiveness of the proposed sampled-data synchronization control scheme.

An in situ polymerization approach for the synthesis of superhydrophobic and superoleophilic nanofibrous membranes for oil-water separation.

Abstract: Superhydrophobic and superoleophilic nanofibrous membranes exhibiting robust oil–water separation performance were prepared by a facile combination of electrospun cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers and a novel in situ polymerized fluorinated polybenzoxazine (F-PBZ) functional layer that incorporated silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs). By employing the F-PBZ/SiO2 NPs modification, the pristine hydrophilic CA nanofibrous membranes were endowed with a superhydrophobicity with the water contact angle of 161° and a superoleophilicity with the oil contact angle of 3°. Surface morphological studies have indicated that the wettability of resultant membranes could be manipulated by tuning the surface composition as well as the hierarchical structures. The quantitative hierarchical roughness analysis using the N2 adsorption method has confirmed the major contribution of SiO2 NPs on enhancing the porous structure, and a detailed correlation between roughness and solid–liquid interface pinning is proposed. Furthermore, the as-prepared membranes exhibited fast and efficient separation for oil–water mixtures and excellent stability over a wide range of pH conditions, which would make them a good candidate in industrial oil-polluted water treatments and oil spill cleanup, and also provided a new insight into the design and development of functional nanofibrous membranes through F-PBZ modification.

Quantized $H_{\infty }$ Control for Nonlinear Stochastic Time-Delay Systems With Missing Measurements

Abstract: In this paper, the quantized H∞ control problem is investigated for a class of nonlinear stochastic time-delay network-based systems with probabilistic data missing. A nonlinear stochastic system with state delays is employed to model the networked control systems where the measured output and the input signals are quantized by two logarithmic quantizers, respectively. Moreover, the data missing phenomena are modeled by introducing a diagonal matrix composed of Bernoulli distributed stochastic variables taking values of 1 and 0, which describes that the data from different sensors may be lost with different missing probabilities. Subsequently, a sufficient condition is first derived in virtue of the method of sector-bounded uncertainties, which guarantees that the closed-loop system is stochastically stable and the controlled output satisfies H∞ performance constraint for all nonzero exogenous disturbances under the zero-initial condition. Then, the sufficient condition is decoupled into some inequalities for the convenience of practical verification. Based on that, quantized H∞ controllers are designed successfully for some special classes of nonlinear stochastic time-delay systems by using Matlab linear matrix inequality toolbox. Finally, a numerical simulation example is exploited to show the effectiveness and applicability of the results derived.

Silver(I), Mercury(II), Cadmium(II), and Zinc(II) Target Exposed Enzymic Iron-Sulfur Clusters when They Toxify Escherichia coli

Abstract: The toxicity of soft metals is of broad interest to microbiologists, both because such metals influence the community structures in natural environments and because several metals are used as antimicrobial agents. Their potency roughly parallels their thiophilicity, suggesting that their primary biological targets are likely to be enzymes that contain key sulfhydryl moieties. A recent study determined that copper poisons Escherichia coli in part by attacking the exposed [4Fe-4S] clusters of dehydratases. The present investigation sought to test whether other soft metals also target these enzymes. In vitro experiments revealed that low-micromolar concentrations of Ag(I) and Hg(II) directly inactivated purified fumarase A, a member of the dehydratase family. The enzyme was also poisoned by higher levels of Cd(II) and Zn(II), but it was unaffected by even millimolar concentrations of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II). Electron paramagnetic resonance analysis and measurements of released iron confirmed that damage was associated with destruction of the [4Fe-4S] cluster, and indeed, the reconstruction of the cluster fully restored activity. Growth studies were then performed to test whether dehydratase damage might underlie toxicity in vivo. Barely toxic doses of Ag(I), Hg(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II) inactivated all tested members of the [4Fe-4S] dehydratase family. Again, activity was recovered when the clusters were rebuilt. The metals did not diminish the activities of other sampled enzymes, including NADH dehydrogenase I, an iron-sulfur protein whose clusters are shielded by polypeptide. Thus, the data indicate that dehydratases are damaged by the concentrations of metals that initiate bacteriostasis.

Metal-Free Oxidative Trifluoromethylthiolation of Terminal Alkynes with CF3SiMe3 and Elemental Sulfur

Abstract: A metal-free oxidative trifluoromethyl-thiolation of terminal alkynes using readily available CF3SiMe3 and elemental sulfur at room temperature has been developed. This reaction provides an efficient and convenient method for the preparation of alkynyl trifluoromethyl sulfides bearing a wide range of functional groups. Preliminary investigation revealed that elemental sulfur instead of air acted as the oxidant.

$H_{\infty}$ State Estimation for Discrete-Time Complex Networks With Randomly Occurring Sensor Saturations and Randomly Varying Sensor Delays

Abstract: In this paper, the state estimation problem is investigated for a class of discrete time-delay nonlinear complex networks with randomly occurring phenomena from sensor measurements. The randomly occurring phenomena include randomly occurring sensor saturations (ROSSs) and randomly varying sensor delays (RVSDs) that result typically from networked environments. A novel sensor model is proposed to describe the ROSSs and the RVSDs within a unified framework via two sets of Bernoulli-distributed white sequences with known conditional probabilities. Rather than employing the commonly used Lipschitz-type function, a more general sector-like nonlinear function is used to describe the nonlinearities existing in the network. The purpose of the addressed problem is to design a state estimator to estimate the network states through available output measurements such that, for all probabilistic sensor saturations and sensor delays, the dynamics of the estimation error is guaranteed to be exponentially mean-square stable and the effect from the exogenous disturbances to the estimation accuracy is attenuated at a given level by means of an H∞-norm. In terms of a novel Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and the Kronecker product, sufficient conditions are established under which the addressed state estimation problem is recast as solving a convex optimization problem via the semidefinite programming method. A simulation example is provided to show the usefulness of the proposed state estimation conditions.

Co3O4 nanocrystals on graphene oxide as a synergistic catalyst for degradation of Orange II in water by advanced oxidation technology based on sulfate radicals

Abstract: Graphene oxide and cobalt oxide nanocomposites (Co3O4/GO) are fabricated in situ as heterogeneous catalysts by the decomposition of cobalt nitrate through heat and crystal growth of Co3O4 on the surface of GO sheets in 1-hexanol solvent. The Co3O4/GO catalyst is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Results show that the Co3O4/GO catalysts are large GO sheets decorated homogenously with well-dispersed Co3O4 nanoparticles. Although Co3O4 or GO alone exhibit little catalytic activity, their hybrid (Co3O4/GO) exhibits an unexpectedly high catalytic activity in the degradation of Orange II in water by advanced oxidation technology based on sulfate radicals, and 100% decomposition can be achieved in 6 min. These phenomena suggest a synergistic catalytic activity of Co3O4 and GO in the hybrid.

Task Scheduling Optimization in Cloud Computing Based on Heuristic Algorithm

Abstract: Cloud computing is an emerging technology and it allows users to pay as you need and has the high performance. Cloud computing is a heterogeneous system as well and it holds large amount of application data. In the process of scheduling some intensive data or computing an intensive application, it is acknowledged that optimizing the transferring and processing time is crucial to an application program. In this paper in order to minimize the cost of the processing we formulate a model for task scheduling and propose a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm which is based on small position value rule. By virtue of comparing PSO algorithm with the PSO algorithm embedded in crossover and mutation and in the local research, the experiment results show the PSO algorithm not only converges faster but also runs faster than the other two algorithms in a large scale. The experiment results prove that the PSO algorithm is more suitable to cloud computing.

Biodegradable poly-epsilon-caprolactone (pcl) for tissue engineering applications: a review

Abstract: Biodegradable polymers have been used in biomedical applications generally, and in tissue engineering especially, due to good physical and biological properties. Poly-epsilon- caprolactone (PCL) is a one of biodegradable polymers, which has a long time of degradation. But the mechanical properties, biodegradability and biocompatibility of the pure PCL cannot meet up with the requirement for some of the biomedical applications such as bone tissue engineering, for that many researches have established to focus on the modification of the PCL. In this review, different results on the fabrication of PCL for specific field of tissue engineering, tissue engineering incorporated in different PCL, surface modifications, blending with other polymers and their micro-porous structure are represented in brief outcomes. In addition dissolution of PCL in different organic solvents and the effect on their properties was attainable. Moreover, the physical and biological properties of PCL for different type of tissue engineering applications (hard and soft tissue) are obtainable.