High-temperature State Research Articles

Quench-induced surface engineering of NiO/NiSex hybrid for highly enhanced electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction

To achieve sustainable production of hydrogen fuel through electrochemical water splitting, efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts for the kinetically sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are urgently desirable. Herein, a calcination-quenching strategy to synthesize core-shell NiO@NiSex nanorods (NiSex is the core and NiO is the shell) with tailored surface compositions and structures is reported. In the calcination step, a NiO@NiSex nanostructure supported on nickel foam (NF) (denoted as NiO@NiSex/NF) was formed via oxidative calcination of highly conductive NiSe in situ grown on NF (denoted as NiSe/NF). Subsequently, the as-obtained NiO@NiSex/NF electrode at the high temperature state was rapidly placed in a cold iron salt solution to achieve the quenching process. The results conclusively demonstrated that the quenching process resulted in iron doping and vacancies generation on the surface of NiO, effectively reconfiguring the desired surface of the catalyst, thus giving rise to notably enhanced electrocatalytic performance for OER in alkaline media. As a result, the quenched-engineered NiO@NiSex/NF electrode requires ultralow overpotentials of 231 and 265 mV to yield current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm−2, respectively, and presents a very low Tafel slope of 28.9 mV dec−1 as well as excellent durability, with the performance superior to most of metal oxide catalysts reported to date. This work extends the use of quenching chemistry in fabrication of high-performance metal oxide catalysts for energy related applications.

Exacerbated High‐Temperature Calendar Aging of SiOx‐Graphite Electrode Induced by Interparticle Lithium Crosstalk

AbstractSilicon oxide‐graphite (SiOx‐G) composites are promising anode materials for building practical high‐energy Li‐ion batteries. To acquire long and safe operation of battery, extensive efforts are made to maintain stable Li storage of SiOx‐G against materials aging and the accompanied performance fade. While previous studies mostly focus on the cycling aging, the calendar aging occurred during battery storage at a high state of charge or high temperature has not received sufficient attention. In this work, a mechanism study on the calendar aging chemistry of fully lithiated SiOx‐G electrodes in half‐cells both at ambient and high temperature (60 °C) is performed. Unmodified SiOx is employed as active materials to inspect the change of thermodynamics properties in the bulk and at interfaces. By excluding the interference from cathode, it is revealed that besides aggravated parasitic reactions happening at interface, Li migration from the lithiated graphite to the vicinal SiOx particles is also responsible for calendar aging of SiOx‐G electrodes, and high‐temperature storage notably accelerates the aging process. This work enriches the fundamental understandings about the multifactor‐coupled aging process of anode materials and sheds lights on rational materials design toward improved calendar life of a high‐energy rechargeable battery.

Investigation of Multiple Shape Memory Behaviors, Thermal and Physical Properties of Benzoxazine Blended with Diamino Polysiloxane.

In this research, benzoxazine (BA-a) and diamino polysiloxane (PSX750) blends were prepared at 0-50 wt% of BA-a. The interactions between two polymeric components were investigated via a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR). The thermal properties of the blends were also determined with Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA) and Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA). The mechanical properties and shape memory behaviors of the blends were also investigated. The FTIR spectra exhibited the shift of the peak from 1672 to the range of 1634-1637 cm-1, which could be identified as hydrogen bonds between two polymeric domains at the contents from 30 to 50 wt%. The DMA thermograms revealed two glass transition temperatures, which could indicate a partially miscible system. The char yield values were increased, while the decomposition temperatures were decreased with an increasing benzoxazine content. Interestingly, the blends at the contents of 10 and 20 wt% presented dual-shape memory behaviors, whereas triple- or multiple-shape memory behaviors were observed with benzoxazine contents of 30 to 50 wt%. For the high-temperature recovery state, a shape memory ratio of 97.5% with a recovery time of 65 s and a shape fixity ratio of 66.7% was recorded at the content of 50 wt%. For the low-temperature recovery state, a shape recovery ratio of 98.9% was observed at the same content. Moreover, the values of the recovery ratio for four shape-recovery cycles revealed multiple shape memory behaviors with high recovery ratios in the range of 95-98%.

Influence of oxygen stoichiometry on [formula omitted] spin state transitions and magnetic properties in [formula omitted] cobaltites

The layered EuBaCo2O5+δ (δ= 0.47) (EBCO) cobaltite shows various magnetic phases at high temperature and magnetic glassy state at low temperature. Further, the various magnetic phases of the EBCO are coupled with the spin state transition of Co3+ octahedra. In the present study, we report the structural and magnetization properties of the EBCO by changing the oxygen stoichiometry. The various oxygen compositions were obtained after post annealing the as-prepared EBCO cobaltite under argon and oxygen atmospheres and the final stoichiometry was detected from the iodometric titrations. The δ= 0.13 and 0.67 samples show the tetragonal symmetry (space group, P4/mmm), whereas the δ= 0.41, 0.47 and 0.58 samples show the orthorhombic symmetry (space group, Pmmm). The magnetization measurements on the δ= 0.13 sample shows the paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic ordering at TN= 288 K and the electrical resistivity analysis shows the Co2+ and Co3+ charge ordering at TCO= 180 K. Further, the δ= 0.13 sample show the absence of the ferromagnetic phase and Co3+ spin state transitions. The δ= 0.58 and 0.67 samples show the coexistence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases, however, the features of Co3+ intermediate spin (IS) to low spin (LS) state transition is suppressed, which is observed in δ= 0.47 sample at 151 K. Our results indicate a tuning of the crystal structure along with the magnetic properties and also the Co3+ spin state transitions by oxygen stoichiometry variation in EuBaCo2O5+δ cobaltites.

Comparison of Friction Parametrization from Dynamics and Material Properties for a Coarse-Grained Polymer Melt.

In this work, we extend an approach to coarse-grained (CG) modeling for polymer melts in which the conservative potential is parametrized using the iterative Boltzmann inversion (IBI) method and the accelerated dynamics inherent to IBI are corrected using the dissipative Langevin thermostat with a single tunable friction parameter (J. Chem. Phys. 2021, 154, 084114). Diffusive measures from picoseconds to nanoseconds are used to determine the Langevin friction factor to apply to the CG model to recover all-atom (AA) dynamics; the resulting friction factors are then compared for consistency. Here, we additionally parametrize the CG dynamics using a material property, the zero-shear viscosity, which we measure using the Green-Kubo (GK) method. Two materials are studied, squalane as a function of temperature and the same polystyrene oligomers previously studied as a function of chain length. For squalane, the friction derived from the long-time diffusive measures and the viscosity all strongly increase with decreasing temperature, showing an Arrhenius-like dependence, and remain consistent with each other over the entire temperature range. In contrast, the friction required for the picosecond diffusive measurement, the Debye-Waller factor, is somewhat lower than the friction from long-time measures and relatively insensitive to temperature. A time-dependent friction would be required to exactly reproduce the AA measurements during the caging transition connecting these two extremes over the entire timespan at this level of coarse-graining. For the polystyrene oligomers for which we previously characterized the diffusive friction, the viscosity-parametrized frictions are consistent with the diffusive measures for the smallest chain length. However, for the longer chains, we find different trends based on measurement method with friction derived from rotational diffusion remaining nearly constant, friction derived from translational diffusion showing a modestly increasing trend, and viscosity-derived friction showing a modest decreasing trend. This seems to indicate that there is some sensitivity of the friction measurement method for systems with increased relaxation times and that in particular, the unsteady dynamics of the individual parametrization schemes plays a role in this. Increased difficulty in applying the GK method with increasing relaxation time of the longer chain systems is also discussed. Overall, we find that when the material is in a high-temperature melt state and the viscosity measurement is reliable, the friction parametrization from the diffusive friction measures is consistent and the lower cost diffusive parametrization is a reliable means for modeling viscosity. Our data give insight into the time-dependent friction one might compute using a non-Markovian approach to enable the recovery of AA dynamics over a wider range of time scales than can be computed using a single friction.

Superconducting spin reorientation in spin-triplet multiple superconducting phases of UTe2.

Superconducting (SC) state has spin and orbital degrees of freedom, and spin-triplet superconductivity shows multiple SC phases because of the presence of these degrees of freedom. However, the observation of spin-direction rotation occurring inside the SC state (SC spin rotation) has hardly been reported. Uranium ditelluride, a recently found topological superconductor, exhibits various SC phases under pressure: SC state at ambient pressure (SC1), high-temperature SC state above 0.5 gigapascal (SC2), and low-temperature SC state above 0.5 gigapascal (SC3). We performed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ac susceptibility measurements on a single-crystal uranium ditelluride. The b axis spin susceptibility remains unchanged in SC2, unlike in SC1, and decreases below the SC2-SC3 transition with spin modulation. These unique properties in SC3 arise from the coexistence of two SC order parameters. Our NMR results confirm spin-triplet superconductivity with SC spin parallel to b axis in SC2 and unveil the remaining of spin degrees of freedom in SC uranium ditelluride.

Thermochromic performance enhancement by geometric structure optimization of VO2 nanoarrays for smart window application

The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) exhibited by vanadium dioxide (VO2) has expanded its utility in thermochromic smart windows. Here, guided by the absorption characteristics of a single VO2 nanoparticle (NP) with a radius between 10 to 60 nm on a glass substrate, we numerically conducted an extensive analysis of the optical properties of VO2 nano-cylinder arrays. We achieved a significant enhancement in the performance of thermochromic smart windows by optimizing the geometric structure of the VO2 arrays. Such a performance enhancement relies on the on-off switch properties of LSPR in VO2 nano-cylinder arrays. Smaller (r≤ 60) ones with high aspect ratios (> 0.75) shows a higher absorption contribution in their extinction effect and a more energetic LSPR peak located in the near-infrared spectra. Those characteristics significantly improve the thermochromic performance of smart windows via enhancing the transmission contrast between the high-temperature rutile state and the low-temperature monoclinic state of VO2. At a transmittance luminous (Tlum) efficacy of 60.03%, an excellent 20.03% in solar spectrum modulation ability (ΔTsol) can be attained. Compared to flat films with an identical Tlum, ΔTsol of the periodically cylindrical-structured film is raised by 234%.

Cationic nonstoichiometry, structural and magnetic properties of hexagonal Tm2-xMnxO3 manganites

We studied the mechanism of formation of cation-nonstoichiometric compositions of the Tm2-xMnxO3 (x = 0.96, 0.98, 1, 1.02, 1.04, 1.06) solid solution with a hexagonal crystal structure. The entire region of homogeneity of compositions with an excess/deficiency of Mn and Tm was covered. Their structural and magnetic properties were studied by X-ray diffraction and magnetometry. The analysis of the concentration dependence of the structural parameters allows us to conclude that the formation of compositions with an excess of Tm occurs through the formation of vacancies in the Mn sublattice. The mechanism of formation of solid solutions with an excess of Mn includes the reaction of manganese disproportionation: 2Mn3+=Mn4++Mn2+. The Mn2+ ions formed as a result of this reaction occupy thulium sites, while manganese sites are occupied by Mn3+ and Mn4+ ions. Magnetic properties have been studied as functions of temperature in the temperature range 5 – 300 K. It was established that all the samples undergo a transition from the high-temperature PM state to AF one at T = TN1. The temperature TN1 both at x < 1 and x > 1 is reduced and takes a value in the range of 81–84 K. With decreasing temperature (T < TN1) in samples with x = 0.96, 1.04, 1.06 an additional first-order transition to a new AF state is observed in the vicinity of T∼45 K. The Curie-Weiss temperature ΘCW monotonically decreases for compositions with x < 1. At the same time with x > 1 a nonlinear dependence of ΘCW (x) is observed.

Creep property and rafting kinetics of Co-based monocrystal superalloys with antiphase boundaries of γʹ phase

The precipitation strengthened Co-based superalloys show the great potential for the next generation superalloys of aerospace engine, their mechanical properties are associated with the morphology stability of L12-γʹ phase under high temperature and loading state. The antiphase boundaries (APBs) formed by different variants of the ordered fcc-L12-γʹ-Co3(Al, W) phase, affect creep morphologies and the high-temperature properties of Co-based superalloys. By coupling with the Kim-Kim-Suzuki (KKS) model and crystal plasticity model, the directional rafting and evolution kinetics of the γʹ phase are studied during the creep of Co–10Al–10W (at.%) superalloy. Creep rafting under high temperature and low stress is a process of stress-induced directional coarsening, rafting is affected by the APBs on hindering the directional element diffusion. In the early stage of creep, the increasing number of APBs leads to a lower creep strain. Higher temperature accelerates the rafting and reduces the γʹ area fraction. Furthermore, under tensile stress and compressive stress, the APBs show the hindering effect on both P-type rafting and N-type rafting. This study reveals the effects of APBs on the rafting behaviors and creep properties, the findings are theoretically important for the microstructure optimization of Co-based superalloys.

Role of Lanthanides and Bilayer Fe2As2 in the Electronic Properties of RbLn2Fe4As4O2 (Ln = Gd, Tb, and Dy) Superconductors.

The superconducting transition temperatures (Tc) of RbGd2Fe4As4O2, RbTb2Fe4As4O2, and RbDy2Fe4As4O2 are 35 K, 34.7 K, and 34.3 K without doping, respectively. For the first time, we have studied the high-temperature nonmagnetic state and the low-temperature magnetic ground state of 12442 materials, RbTb2Fe4As4O2 and RbDy2Fe4As4O2, using first principles calculations and comparing them with RbGd2Fe4As4O2. We also performed a detailed study of the effects of lanthanides and bilayer Fe2As2. We predict that the ground state of RbLn2Fe4As4O2 (Ln = Gd, Tb, and Dy) is spin-density-wave-type, in-plane, striped antiferromagnets, and the magnetic moment around each Fe atom is about 2 μB. We also found that the structural differences caused by the simple ionic radius have little effect on the properties of these three materials. Different lanthanide elements themselves play a major role in the electronic properties of the materials. It can be confirmed that the effect of Gd on RbLn2Fe4As4O2 is indeed different from that of Tb and Dy, and the presence of Gd is more conducive to interlayer electron transfer. This means that Gd can transfer more electrons from the GdO layer to the FeAs layer compared to Tb and Dy. Therefore, RbGd2Fe4As4O2 has a stronger internal coupling strength of the bilayer Fe2As2 layer. This can explain why the Tc of RbGd2Fe4As4O2 is slightly higher than that of RbTb2Fe4As4O2 and RbDy2Fe4As4O2.

Structure of Ni44.4Mn36.2Sn14.9Cu4.5 alloy applicable for thermomechanical treatment

Ni-Mn-Sn Heusler alloys exhibit a significant value of magnetocaloric effect. A disadvantage of these alloys is their high brittleness in the as-cast state, but their ductility can be increased by a thermomechanical treatment. The results of a study of thermal treatment for achieving a structure of Ni44.4Mn36.2Sn14.9Cu4.5 alloy applicable for further thermomechanical treatment are presented. It is shown that after argon-arc melting and cooling of the ingot in a water-cooled copper crucible, the structure is characterized by two phases that are quite similar in composition and have no clear phase boundaries. After homogenization annealing at 860°C for 24 hours and slow cooling, a two-phase state with regions enriched in Cu atoms is observed. It is possible to preserve the single-phase structure of the high-temperature state by quenching from the annealing temperature. In order to imitate the temperature regime of thermomechanical treatment, the alloy in the single-phase quenched state was subjected to annealing at 700°C for 1 hour and slow cooling. An analysis of the microstructure shows that, as a result, it remains in the same single-phase state. Thus, a mode of heat treatment of the Ni44.4Mn36.2Sn14.9Cu4.5 alloy, which makes it possible to achieve the applicable structure for further thermomechanical treatment, was selected.

Study on heat transfer model of solid rocket motor combustor under high-temperature two-phase flow scour state

To address the issues with the multi-phase flow and heat transfer characteristics of the gas inside solid rocket motor combustor, this paper first establishes a mathematical model form that can express the heat transfer characteristics between gas and wall, and obtains the mathematical model of heat transfer by means of experiment and numerical simulation. The results show that heat transfer in the wall surface has obvious hysteresis during the actual working process of solid rocket motor, and that temperature in the wall surface will gradually reach the peak value after the motor works. The heat transfer trend between the numerical simulation results and the experimental data is relatively consistent, and the errors of heat transfer calculation in the stable working section of the motor can be controlled by 15%. It shows that the calculation model with the Sommerfeld number as the criterion selected in this paper can better reflect the heat transfer characteristics between the alumina droplet and the wall in combustor. The maximum error between the fitted value and calculated value is 9.43%, which indicates that the numerical model of heat transfer established under the state of two-phase gas and wall scouring has certain reliability.

A First-principles analysis of Structural, Electronic, Elastic, and vacant properties of BCC, FCC and HCP tungsten at different electronic temperatures

Since tungsten (W) was considered as the most promising plasma facing materials (PFMs) in fusion reactors, there has been extensive research on the physical performance of W-PFMs. It is found that under the extreme conditions in a fusion reactor, W-PFMs should be in a nonequilibrium state of high electronic temperature and low ionic temperature. This leads to the possibility of non-thermal phase transitions, where the crystal structure of the tungsten material may change from body-centered cubic (bcc) phase to hexagonal close-packed (hcp) phase or face-centered cubic (fcc) phase. Consequently, it is necessary to investigate the relevant physical properties of hcp-W and fcc-W under the electron-excited state. In this work, the fundamental physical properties, including atomic structures, electronic structures, elastic constants, and vacancy formation energies, of bcc-W, hcp-W and fcc-W, were theoretically calculated at various electronic temperatures. The mechanical stability of these three phases was also systematically analyzed under varying electronic temperatures. The results of this research are expected to provide a certain guidance in the optimization of W-PFMs in future fusion reactors.

Simulation of Drilling Temperature Rise in Frozen Soil of Lunar Polar Region Based on Discrete Element Theory

As the frozen soil in the South Pole region of the Moon is an important water resource, the operation of drilling and retrieving samples of the frozen soil in this region will be a crucial task for us to accomplish in future deep-space exploration. Thus, this paper investigated the effects of the increasing temperature and heat transfer between the drilling tools and the simulated lunar soil to minimize the degradation of the frozen soil samples during drilling due to the increased temperature. Specifically, the discrete element method was adopted and the heat transfer parameters of the discrete element particles were calibrated based on the equivalent heat transfer of the particle system. Moreover, a lunar soil particle system was developed for the simulations. Under the current working conditions with reasonable parameters, the maximum increase in the drill bit temperature was about 60 °C. Overall, the simulation results were consistent with the experimental results, and further analysis revealed that the flow of lunar soil can effectively take away thermal, which is also one of the reasons why the simulated lunar soil particles are in a high-temperature state at the front of the drilling tool.

Investigation of Dynamic Behavior of Confined Ionic Liquid [BMIM]+[TCM]- in Silica Material SBA-15 Using NMR.

The molecular dynamics of 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium tricyanomethanide ionic liquid [BMIM]+[TCM]- confined in SBA-15 mesoporous silica were examined using 1H NMR spin-lattice (T1) relaxation and diffusion measurements. An extensive temperature range (100 K-400 K) was considered in order to study both the liquid and glassy states. The hydrogen dynamics in the two states and the self-diffusion coefficients of the cation [BMIM]+ above the glass transition temperature were extracted from the experimental data. The results were then compared to the corresponding bulk substance. The effects of confinement on the dynamic properties of the ionic liquid clearly manifest themselves in both temperature regimes. In the high-temperature liquid state, the mobility of the confined cations reduces significantly compared to the bulk; interestingly, confinement drives the ionic liquid to the glassy state at a higher temperature Tg than the bulk ionic liquid, whereas an unusual T1 temperature dependence is observed in the high-temperature regime, assigned to the interaction of the ionic liquid with the silica-OH species.

Infrared radiative switching with thermally and electrically tunable transition metal oxides-based plasmonic grating

Plasmonic and phase transition has been blended to gain the infrared radiative switching which is tunable with temperature or voltage supply. This is applied via vanadium dioxide, tungsten trioxide, and molybdenum trioxide as transition metal oxides (TMO). The metallic phase at high temperature or colored state contributes in magnetic polariton (MP) excitation, producing broad absorptance. The TMO-based sub-layer is integrated underneath the grating fully supporting MP resonance. In contrast, this underlayer leads to producing the narrowband absorptance originated from concept of zero contrast grating (ZCG). The zero gradient in refractive index at the output plane of the grating cause transmission of light in broad wavelength range. With introduction of reflective silver underlayer, those transmitted through the grating are reflected back. However, there exists the near-zero narrowband transmission peaks in ZCG. This undergoes transformation to narrowband absorptance. In addition, another absorptance peak can be induced due to phonon modes at insulating phase. The MP resonance at metallic phase is characterized with inductor-capacitor (LC) circuit and the narrowband absorptance peaks are characterized with phase shift from the Fabry–Perot round trip (FP-RT) eigenequation from high contrast grating (HCG). The work expands the usage of transition metal oxides in infrared region with larger contrast.

Effect of the Distribution Characteristics of TiC Phases Particles on the Strengthening in Nickel Matrix

Molecular dynamics (MD) was used to simulate the effect of TiC particles distribution on the tribological behavior of the reinforced composites. The mechanical properties, friction coefficient, number of wear atoms, stress and temperature, and microscopic deformation behavior of TiC/Ni composites during nano-friction were systematically investigated by MD to reveal the effect of TiC distribution on the friction removal mechanism of the material. It was found that the larger the radius of the TiC particles, or the shallower the depth of the TiC particles, the easier it was to generate stress concentrations around the TiC particles, forming a high dislocation density region and promoting the nucleation of dislocations. This leads to severe friction hardening, reducing the atomic number of abrasive chips and reducing the friction coefficient by approximately 6% for every 1 nm reduction in depth, thus improving the anti-wear capacity. However, when the radius of the TiC particles increases and the thickness from the surface deepens, the elastic recovery in material deformation is weakened. We also found that the presence of the TiC particles during the friction process changes the stress state inside the workpiece, putting the TiC particles and the surrounding nickel atoms into a high-temperature state and increasing the concentrated temperature by 30 K for every 1 nm increase in depth. Nevertheless, the workpiece atoms below the TiC particles invariably exist in a low-temperature state, which has a great insulation effect and improves the high-temperature performance of the material. The insight into the wear characteristics of TiC particles distribution provides the basis for a wide range of TiC/Ni applications.

Fluctuating intertwined stripes in the strange metal regime of the Hubbard model

Strongly correlated electron systems host a variety of poorly understood correlations in their high-temperature normal state. Unlike ordered phases defined by order parameters, regions of the normal state are often defined through unconventional properties such as strange metallic transport or spectroscopic pseudogaps. Characterizing the microscopic correlations in the normal state is necessary to elucidate mechanisms that lead to these properties and their connection to ground-state orders. Here we establish the presence of intertwined charge and spin stripes in the strange metal normal state of the Hubbard model using determinant quantum Monte Carlo calculations. The charge and spin density waves constituting the stripes are fluctuating and short ranged; yet they obey a mutual commensurability relation and remain microscopically interlocked, as evidenced through measurements of three-point spin-spin-hole correlation functions. Our findings demonstrate the ability of many-body numerical simulations to unravel the microscopic correlations that define quantum states of matter.

Change in plasma cortisol and glucose levels of Oncorhynchus keta according to water temperature

Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) is a species of anadromous salmonid inhabiting coastal rivers in the North Pacific and the Arctic in the Bering and is the most widely distributed among Pacific salmon species. It is an important fish species in Korea as the salmon releasing project is being actively carried out. This study was conducted to investigate changes in the physiological activity of O. keta according to water temperature. Three experiments were conducted according to the water temperature and period, and the plasma concentrations of cortisol and glucose were analyzed from the blood samples of the experimental groups. Experiment I is a short-term water temperature experiment, in which water temperature stimulation was given for 4 hours at water temperatures of 12°C, 16°C (control), 20°C, and 24°C, and a recovery period was given for 4 hours. Experiment II is an experiment in which water temperature stimulation was given for 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours at a high temperature of 24°C, and a recovery period was given for 12 hours, respectively. Experiment III is a long-term water temperature experiment, in which the water temperature was 12°C, 16°C (control), 20°C, and 24°C for 8 weeks. As a result of the experiment, in Experiment I, there was no significant difference in the survival rate between the experimental groups, but the concentration of cortisol and glucose in the plasma according to the set water temperature showed a significant difference. In Experiment II, there was no significant trend according to the maintenance time of the high-temperature state, but as the temperature increased, the plasma cortisol and glucose levels significantly increased compared to the control group. In Experiment III, all of the experimental group C (24°C) died in the 1st week, and there was no significant difference in the plasma glucose at the 1st and 8th weeks among the remaining experimental groups.

Synergistic effect of organic metal chalcogenides acid-base pairs for enhancing proton conduction

Acid-base pairs synergistic strategy is one of the most effective ways to improve the proton conductivity of materials at low humidity. However, the random distribution of acid or base functional groups on the surface of the materials are difficult to form long-range ordered proton transfer channels, which hinders the proton conductivity. Herein, two organic metal chalcogenides (OMCs), Ag(SPh-NH2) and Ag(SPh-COOH) nanosheets were self-assembled into composite membranes by vacuum filtration. Benefiting from the long-range ordered acid-base functional groups on the surface of OMCs, the proton conductivity was significantly enhanced. As a result, the proton conductivity of the Ag(SPh-NH2)/Ag(SPh-COOH) composite membrane is greatly improved at a low humidity condition of 45% RH, reaching the level of the single membrane at high humidity. In addition, the proton conductivity of Ag(SPh-NH2)/Ag(SPh-COOH) composite membrane is 47 times higher than that of Ag(SPh-NH2) membrane and 10 times higher than that of Ag(SPh-COOH) membrane under high-temperature hydration state. Collectively, this study broadens the avenue for designing proton-conducting materials that can work under low humidity conditions.