Wuhan University of Technology

About: Wuhan University of Technology is a education organization based out in Wuhan, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Microstructure & Photocatalysis. The organization has 40384 authors who have published 36724 publications receiving 575695 citations. The organization is also known as: WUT.

A review on hydronic asphalt pavement for energy harvesting and snow melting

Abstract: Solar energy is undoubtedly the environment friendly and inexhaustible energy resource for humans. The concept of hydronic asphalt pavement (HAP) is an emerging renewable energy technology, which provides an interesting method for solar energy utilization. The innovation of HAP is to mitigate a series of realistic problems related to the asphalt pavement as well as the depletion of fossil energy resource. Fluid circulating through the pipes network imbedded in the asphalt pavement can capture the solar energy and store for later use. This paper summaries the major achievements of the existing literatures about the HAP and gives some proposals for further investigations. Studies have confirmed the feasibility of harvesting solar energy, cooling the pavement, snow melting/deicing as well as air conditioning of buildings by applying innovation technologies on asphalt pavement. As seasonal energy storage technology is relatively mature at present, most of the literatures reviews focus on the influences of variables associated with system behavior as well as the heat transfer processes during snow melting and solar energy collection. Future work should aim to do more urgent issues involved with HAP application: construction technology, maintenance technology, and long-term performance. Solving these problems can strengthen the theoretical and practical understanding of HAP, and lead to more extensive applications.

Surface modification of ZnO with Ag improves its photocatalytic efficiency and photostability

Abstract: Ag/ZnO photocatalysts with different Ag loadings were prepared by photocatalytic reduction of Ag+ on ZnO with ethanol as hole scavenger. It was found that loading an appropriate amount of Ag on ZnO not only enhances its photocatalytic activity, but also improves its photostability. The Ag/ZnO photocatalysts were characterized with XRD, BET, DRUV–vis, Raman, PL, and photoelectrochemical measurement. No matter what the Ag loading is higher or low, silver exists in the form of metallic species in the Ag/ZnO photocatalysts. The enhancement of photocatalytic activity is due to the fact that the modification of ZnO with an appropriate amount of Ag can increase the separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes in ZnO, and the improvement of photostability of ZnO is attributed to a considerable decrease of the surface defect sites of ZnO after the Ag loading. The chemisorption of molecular oxygen and the chemisorption of atomic oxygen on Ag in the Ag/ZnO photocatalysts were observed. It was found that the metallic Ag in the Ag/ZnO photocatalysts does play a new role of O2 chemisorption sites except for electron acceptor, by which chemisorbed molecular oxygen reacts with photogenerated electrons to form active oxygen species, and thus facilitates the trapping of photogenerated electrons and further improves the photocatalytic activity of the Ag/ZnO photocatalysts.

Nanowires for Electrochemical Energy Storage.

Abstract: Nanomaterials provide many desirable properties for electrochemical energy storage devices due to their nanoscale size effect, which could be significantly different from bulk or micron-sized materials. Particularly, confined dimensions play important roles in determining the properties of nanomaterials, such as the kinetics of ion diffusion, the magnitude of strain/stress, and the utilization of active materials. Nanowires, as one of the representative one-dimensional nanomaterials, have great capability for realizing a variety of applications in the fields of energy storage since they could maintain electron transport along the long axis and have a confinement effect across the diameter. In this review, we give a systematic overview of the state-of-the-art research progress on nanowires for electrochemical energy storage, from rational design and synthesis, in situ structural characterizations, to several important applications in energy storage including lithium-ion batteries, lithium-sulfur batteries, sodium-ion batteries, and supercapacitors. The problems and limitations in electrochemical energy storage and the advantages in utilizing nanowires to address the issues and improve the device performance are pointed out. At the end, we also discuss the challenges and demonstrate the prospective for the future development of advanced nanowire-based energy storage devices.

Bioactive nanoparticles stimulate bone tissue formation in bioprinted three‐dimensional scaffold and human mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract: Bioprinting based on thermal inkjet printing is a promising but unexplored approach in bone tissue engineering. Appropriate cell types and suitable biomaterial scaffolds are two critical factors to generate successful bioprinted tissue. This study was undertaken in order to evaluate bioactive ceramic nanoparticles in stimulating osteogenesis of printed bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in poly(ethylene glycol)dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) scaffold. hMSCs suspended in PEGDMA were co-printed with nanoparticles of bioactive glass (BG) and hydroxyapatite (HA) under simultaneous polymerization so the printed substrates were delivered with highly accurate placement in three-dimensional (3D) locations. hMSCs interacted with HA showed the highest cell viability (86.62 ± 6.02%) and increased compressive modulus (358.91 ± 48.05 kPa) after 21 days in culture among all groups. Biochemical analysis showed the most collagen production and highest alkaline phosphatase activity in PEG-HA group, which is consistent with gene expression determined by quantitative PCR. Masson's trichrome staining also showed the most collagen deposition in PEG-HA scaffold. Therefore, HA is more effective comparing to BG for hMSCs osteogenesis in bioprinted bone constructs. Combining with our previous experience in vasculature, cartilage, and muscle bioprinting, this technology demonstrates the capacity for both soft and hard tissue engineering with biomimetic structures.