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Efficient photoelectrochemical photodetectors based on WSe2/rGO have been fabricated using an annealing process. The initial performance enhancement of these devices was primarily attributed to the improved bandgap structure of WSe2 and the high carrier mobility of rGO, which facilitated an efficient transition of valence band electrons to the conduction band. Upon this understanding, a comparison between bulk WSe2 and WSe2 nanosheets (WSe2 NSs) was conducted. It was found that, at a bias voltage of 0.6 V, the photocurrent density of WSe2 NSs devices was 76% higher than that of similar bulk WSe2 devices, reaching 0.044 μA/cm2. Owing to the significant advantages of rGO, extensive testing of various WSe2 to rGO ratios was performed, identifying the precise composition that optimized photoelectric performance. Notably, under conditions of 0.5 M Na2SO4 electrolyte, 120 mW/cm2 irradiance, and 0.6 V bias potential, the devices achieved a photocurrent density of 0.64 μA/cm2, which is approximately 25.72 times higher than that of bulk WSe2 and 14.61 times more than WSe2 NSs. Moreover, the photoresponse trended upward with increasing irradiation intensity. Specifically, when the irradiation intensity was increased to 160 mW/cm2 and the bias voltage was raised from 0 V to 0.6 V, the photoresponsivity increased by 5.8 times, from 1 μA/W to 5.8 μA/W. The photodetectors constructed using the optimal WSe2/rGO ratio exhibited no significant performance degradation during a 4000-s cyclic on/off test, demonstrating their robustness under operational conditions. This study highlights the substantial potential of WSe2/rGO hybrids in enhancing the performance of photoelectrochemical photodetectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The time-dependent deflection characteristics of intact/damaged hybrid curved shell panels have been analyzed numerically under external loading and verified subsequently using experimentation. The effect of damage on structural integrity has been examined in order to identify practical implications. Methods: The damaged hybrid structure (Luffa-CNT) has been modeled numerically in a computer code in MATLAB utilizing higher-order mid-plane kinematics based on a variational approach and finite element technique. Results: The concurrence behavior and model validity have been confirmed by associating the outcomes with the results available in the literature. This study also analyzed experimentally and numerically generated material properties from the DIGIMAT platform, further increasing the depth and precision of the analysis. Finally, several instances are provided to demonstrate the effect of damage, including several geometrical input parameters on the transient responses of the curved shell hybrid structure (HS). Conclusion: The consequences obtained from this detailed approach are thoroughly investigated and addressed. The presence of damage weakens the structure's stiffness by causing the laminate's integrity to erode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel NiO/MnO2 pompon-like hybrid structure was synthesized through a facile one-step hydrothermal in situ growth approach in this paper. NiO nanosheets grow on MnO2 pompon-like microsphere to form typical hybrid structures which significantly increase the abundant active sites of electrode materials. The resulting NiO/MnO2 electrode material exhibits an impressive specific capacity of 2706.1 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g. Remarkably, NiO/MnO2 pompon-like hybrid structure shows excellent cycling performance and its capacity retention is maintained at 84.8% and the charge–discharge efficiency at 96% after 15,000 cycles. Even after undergoing 40,000 cycles, the electrode material maintains an outstanding charge–discharge efficiency of 95.2% with capacity retention of 69%, which revealing promising application as long-term electrode materials for supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unsupervised domain adaptation (UDA) aims to extract domain-invariant features. Existing UDA methods mainly utilize a convolutional neural network (CNN) or vision transformer (ViT) as feature extractor, which align in the latent space that characterizes single view of the object and may lead to matching error—the distributions aligned in the CNN space may still be confused in the ViT space. To address this, we introduce global–local bi-alignment (GLBA) based on a hybrid structure Conformer, which enforces simultaneous alignment in both spaces, following the space-independent assumption: If two domains have the same distribution, their distributions in any latent space are aligned. The framework can be easily combined with previous UDA methods, essentially adding only an alignment loss without the need for elaborate structures or large numbers of parameters. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of GLBA and its state-of-the-art (SoTA) performance achieved with comparable parameter complexity. Code is available at https://github.com/JSJ515-Group/GLBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to compensate for high path loss, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) has been adopted in wireless communication systems operating at millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands. In particular, analog beamformer has been employed in hybrid massive MIMO systems to reduce the cost caused by radio frequency (RF) chains. However, due to hardware limitation, only conventional beamformer can be used at base station (BS) in existing hybrid massive MIMO systems, and as a consequence, inter-user-interference (IUI) cannot be removed completely in the presence of multiple users because of the sidelobe of conventional beamformer. In this letter, we will show that by utilizing the reconstructed spatial covariance matrix (SCM), adaptive beamformer can be also used at the BS in hybrid massive MIMO systems. Thanks to the reconstructed SCM, nulling directions of the adaptive beamformer can be adjusted adaptively to the directions of non-desired users, and therefore the residual IUI can be effectively removed. Simulation results show that the adaptive beamformer can outperform the conventional beamformer significantly in hybrid massive MIMO systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose an all-optical AND gate based on a hybrid nonlinear photonic crystal ring resonator structure. The structure relies on a nonlinear photonic crystal ring resonator containing metal rods. In this hybrid configuration, GaAs and Ag rods are used as dielectric and metal rods, respectively. The nonlinear Kerr effect is harnessed to achieve switching power intensity. To analyze the properties of the proposed hybrid structure, we employ the plane wave expansion method and the two-dimensional finite difference time-domain method. Proper coupling between the plasmonic mode induced by the metal rods and the resonant PhC results in the creation of a hybrid plasmonic-PhC mode. In this proposed structure, the hybrid mode is strongly confined at the interface of metal-dielectric, leading to field enhancement and increased transmission of the hybrid AND gate. The total area of the hybrid AND gate is 175.45 µm2. Simulation results indicate a minimum contrast ratio of 13.17 dB and a response time of 2 ps. It is worth noting that the proposed hybrid structure has a compact size, making it suitable for a wide range of applications in integrated opto-plasmonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hydrothermal process was used to grow titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanorods on p-type silicon substrates, and a dip-coating process was then used to fabricate TiO2 thin film–nanorod hybrid structures. The nanorod-like structures were obtained for processing temperatures of 160°C and 180°C. The thin films were dip-coated on the nanorods with a withdrawal speed of 1 cm/min. Afterwards, thin film–nanorod hybrid structures were annealed at 500°C for 1 h. Morphological characterization carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies confirmed the formation of nanorods. XRD and Raman studies confirmed the presence of anatase and rutile phases of TiO2-based hybrid structures. The oxide charge density (Qox) and the interface charge density (Dit) of the hybrid structures were measured from the capacitance–voltage (C–V) plot. Qox and Dit were calculated as 2.29 × 1012 cm−2 and 0.89 × 1012 eV−1 cm−2, respectively, for a temperature of 180°C and growth time of 60 min. The resistive switching properties of TiO2-based hybrid structures showed a good on/off ratio, and hence the hybrid structure-based device can be considered a suitable element for memory devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a hybrid octagonal simple-cubic (OSC) lattice structure is obtained by combining the cell configurations of the bending-dominated octagonal lattice and the stretching-dominated SC lattice. Finite element (FE) numerical models of the three lattice structures (octagonal, octet and OSC lattice) are established and the axial quasi-static compression simulations are performed. In addition, a theoretical model is established to predict the plateau stress of the OSC lattice with different volume coefficients k. Satisfactory consistency is achieved between the results of the theoretical model and those from FE numerical simulations. The results show that the elastic modulus, the compression strength and the energy absorption capacity of the proposed OSC lattice are respectively increased by 233%, 86%, and 25% compared with the octagonal lattice under the same relative density conditions, while those values are respectively 212%, 34%, and 20% compared with the octet lattice, high-lighting the superior mechanical properties of the hybrid OSC lattice. The effects of volume coefficient k and loading direction on the compression behavior of the OSC lattice were parametrically analyzed. The results show that the volume coefficient k is inversely related to the mechanical properties, and an anisotropic characteristic is exhibited in terms of the compression behavior of the OSC lattice structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a double-sided gyroscope that uses a novel vibrating MOEMS structure via a hybrid plasmonic readout circuit. The proposed mechanism is based on the Coriolis effect and surface plasmon polaritons in which the sensing piece consists of a laser, a ring-shaped gold layer, and a photo-detector. According to the simulations, the proposed device provides a measurement range of ± 630 ∘ / s , a mechanical displacement sensitivity of 2.2 nm / ∘ / s , a mechanical tilt sensitivity of 0.0025 ∘ / ∘ / s , an optical sensitivity of 225.15 μ W / ∘ / s , a total sensitivity of 90.06 μ A / ∘ / s , an ultra-low resolution of 0.444 μ ∘ / s , and an accuracy of 99.99%. The proof mass is 0.43505 μ g , the operational wavelength is λ = 630 nm , and the bandwidth is 1.2 kHz with a drive frequency of 1 kHz . Moreover, a comprehensive study on the effects of various mechanical and optical parameters on the functions of the designed gyroscope is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Niobium oxide (Nb₂O₅), a promising semiconductor, has attracted significant attention for its distinctive optical and electronic properties. This study reports the synthesis of Au@Nb₂O₅ core–shell nanostructures using pulsed laser ablation in liquid. The structural characterization confirms the formation of orthorhombic T-Nb₂O₅, as verified by XRD analysis. The optical band gap of the Au@Nb₂O₅ nanostructures is tunable, ranging from 2.27 to 2.18 eV. Morphological studies using FE-SEM and TEM reveal that laser fluence plays a critical role, with particle size and shell thickness increasing at higher laser energies. Photoluminescence measurements show a broad visible emission (455–480 nm), highlighting the potential for tuning optical properties through laser parameters. Furthermore, the design and analysis of an Au@Nb₂O₅/Si heterojunction photodetector are presented, showcasing its suitability for advanced optoelectronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collision detection is currently a hot issue in virtual reality and other fields. The efficiency and accuracy of collision detection directly affect the real-time update effect of the virtual reality environment, and it is also an important indicator that affects the user's interactive experience. In a complex virtual reality scene, if the traditional collision detection algorithm (Sphere-OBB) is adopted and the tree structure traversal is used to realize the bounding box traversal detection, the accuracy remains unchanged, but the detection complexity is reduced. If the RAPID collision detection algorithm is used, the separated axis test method and the two-layer hybrid hierarchical surrounding tree structure are used, although the amount of calculation is large, the detection efficiency is improved. Using the separation axis (SAT) algorithm and using the separation axis theorem to determine the vector axis can save a lot of calculation time. The purpose of this research is to propose an improved hybrid-level bounding box collision detection optimization algorithm (ASO) based on the traditional hybrid-level bounding box collision detection algorithm. Firstly, based on the spatio-temporal correlation theory, the hybrid hierarchical bounding box hierarchical tree structure is improved to AABB and OBB from top to bottom. The synchronous descent rule is used to realize the traversal of nodes, and then the triangle area weighting method is used to improve the calculation method of the bottom OBB bounding box node center, solve the bounding box vertex covariance matrix, and improve the efficiency and accuracy of collision detection. The experimental results show that the algorithm proposed in this paper is 35.6% faster than the RAPID detection speed and 29.9% faster than the separation axis (SAT) detection speed under the same accuracy. In the multi-object collision detection, compared with the latest research, the algorithm in this paper shortens the intersection detection time, improves the collision detection efficiency, and meets the real-time update requirements of complex virtual reality scenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, pool boiling heat transfer performance and bubble behaviors of hybrid structures with metal foam and square column are investigated by lattice Boltzmann method. By using the vapor-liquid phase change model of Gong-Cheng and Peng-Robinson equation of state, the effects of structural parameters, including metal foam thickness, porosity, column height and ratio of column width (W) to gap spacing (D) are investigated in details. The results show that hybrid structure performs better than pure columnar structure in pool boiling heat transfer. The hybrid structure accelerates bubble growth by fluid disturbance while metal skeletons prevent the bubble escaping. The optimum ratio of column width to gap spacing decreases with the increase of heat flux and HTC (heat transfer coefficient) can achieve an increase up to 25% when W/D change from 5/3 to 1/3. The increase of column height enhances heat transfer by expanding surface area and providing space for bubble motion. The metal foam thickness and porosity have a little influence on pool boiling heat transfer performance, but they have an important effect on bubble motion in the regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hybrid plasmonic-nanowire structure is proposed and investigated for generation of high-Q resonance and structural colors. Multiple localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) modes and plasmonic surface lattice resonance (SLR) modes are excited within the structure by introducing a thin gold layer on top of a titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanowires array. Nanowire arrays support diameter dependent resonant optical modes and when the wavelength of the optical resonance coincides with the plasmonic resonance, high-Q SLR modes are generated due to creation of Fano resonances. The LSPR modes create a resonance feature in the visible range. Thus, a wide range of vivid colors can be generated by this easy-to-fabricate structure via tuning geometrical parameters like the length and diameter of the nanowires and thickness of the plasmonic layer. A high Q of 233 is achieved with a low linewidth of 2.65 nm in the visible range. The proposed structure can be used to fabricate low-cost color sensors with self-referencing capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main stages of manufacturing a composite part are considered and calculation models for the analysis of draping, impregnation, curing and warping are developed. A good convergence of the simulation data with the results of technological experiment was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, P-NiS2/NixP electrocatalysts were synthesized by dealloying the Ni-Al precursor followed by phosphosulfide treatment. We found that the hybrid structure of P-NiS2/NixP provides rich active sites for the surface hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and the doping of P enhances the electronic conductivity of electrodes. In particular, the obtained electrode shows a low overpotential of 196 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of only 110 mV dec−1 in the HER. Meanwhile, long-term constant current electrolysis test experiments indicate that P-NiS2/NixP has good service stability. This research will help to open a new window on the design and fabrication of HER electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon-free hydrogen as a promising clean energy source can be produced with electrocatalysts via water electrolysis. Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) as anodic reaction determines the overall efficiency of water electrolysis due to sluggish OER kinetics. Thus, it's much desirable to explore the efficient and earth-abundant transition-metal-based OER electrocatalysts with high current density and superior stability for industrial alkaline electrolyzers. Herein, we demonstrate a significant enhancement of OER kinetics with the hybrid electrocatalyst arrays in alkaline via judiciously combining earth-abundant and ultrathin NiCo-based layered double hydroxide (NiCo LDH) nanosheets with nickel cobalt sulfides (NiCoS) with a facile metal-organic framework (MOF)-template-involved surface sulfidation process. The obtained NiCo LDH/NiCoS hybrid arrays exhibits an extremely low OER overpotential of 308 mV at 100 mA·cm−2, 378 mV at 200 mA·cm−2 and 472 mV at 400 mA·cm−2 in 1 M KOH solution, respectively. A much low Tafel slope of 48 mV·dec−1 can be achieved. Meanwhile, with the current density from 50 to 250 mA·cm−2, the NiCo-LDH/NiCoS hybrid arrays can run for 25 h without any degradation. Our results demonstrate that the construction of hybrid arrays with abundant interfaces of NiCo LDH/NiCoS can facilitate OER kinetics via possible modulation of binding energy of O-containing intermediates in alkaline media. The present work would pave the way for the development of low-cost and efficient OER catalysts and industrial application of water alkaline electrolyzers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a technique for stress-strain state analysis, optimization and experimental study of the stiffness of a hybrid composite-metal propeller blade. It demonstrates the results of numerical and experimental study and presents the stresses and total displacements of all hybrid blade elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New hybrid carbon-hydrocarbon structure was found and studied after pumping a gas mixture of methane and hydrogen through a synthetic diamond powder sample with a size of 314–400 μm. The experiment was performed with a microwave plasma-chemical system for the deposition of polycrystalline diamond films. The power of the microwave generator was 3.5 kW, the consumption of hydrogen was 400 mL/min, the consumption of methane was 20 mL/min, and the pressure in the reactor chamber was 63 mmHg. The diamond powder was placed into molybdenum cups inserted into a copper holder placed on a water-cooled copper table. The gas mixture was pumped at a pressure drop of 13 mmHg. The unidirectional filament formations, some of which ended as spherical ones, were found in the space between diamond particles of the surface layer. Such a structure called "dandelion" is a composition of filamentous (with a length of 100–500 μm and a diameter of 2 μm) and spherical formations (with average diameter of 18 μm). Raman spectroscopy was used to find the features of these formations. The filamentous formation is single-crystal graphite. The surface of the spherical formation is spindle-shaped structures of nanocrystalline graphite 2 μm in length and 200 nm in thickness and nanodiamond grains with trans-polyacetylene chains [C2H2]n. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mathematical model is developed for a radiant heat exchanger based on a two-layer hybrid structure for the thermal regulation systems of spacecraft. Hybrid radiant heat exchangers with a one-sided radiant panel surface are modeled. Such a heat exchanger is analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid nanostructures possess a great potential for application in advanced nanotechnologies due to the anisotropic properties from different nanophases. Our previous work demonstrated that a linear A1B1A2B2 tetrablock copolymer of symmetric overall volume fraction can self-assemble into a hybrid lamella-sphere (LS) structure by tuning the relative length of the two A-blocks through self-consistent field theory (SCFT), where the spherical and the lamellar domains are mainly composed of the long A1- and short A2-blocks, respectively. However, the phase region of LS is limited. In order to expand the stable region of LS, we change the linear A1B1A2B2 copolymer to a branched A1B1A2(B2)m copolymer resulting in an increase of the local spontaneous curvature between A2- and B2-blocks. We examine the impact of the branching number m of B2-block on the stable region of LS in the phase diagram with respect to fA1 and XN for fixed fB=0.5 and fB1=0.26, and find that m=2 expands the LS region significantly in contrast to the linear architecture. On the other hand, the stability window of LS does not change notably when m=2 is increased to 3 in our calculated parameter space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maraging steel powder was additively deposited on the conventionally manufactured (CMed) maraging steel base plate by powder bed fusion type selective laser melting. Residual tensile stress was introduced into the additively manufactured (AMed) part due to the re-solidification of melted powder on the base plate. Tensile fatigue tests were conducted using the specimens having hybrid structure of AMed and CMed parts. The fatigue strengths of the specimens with hybrid structure were lower than those of the CMed specimens because fatigue cracks predominantly initiated at the defects in the AMed part. Two kinds of post-aging treatments could increase the hardness of the AMed and CMed parts, while had little effect on the fatigue strengths. The maximum size of the defects in the AMed part of the specimen was estimated based on the statistics of extremes. The fatigue limits of the as-built and post-aged samples were estimated by the linear elastic fracture mechanics approach. However, the predicted values were slightly higher than the experimental values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human endeavours span a wide spectrum of activities which includes solving fascinating problems in the realms of engineering, arts, sciences, medical sciences, social sciences, economics and environment. To solve these problems, classical mathematics methods are insufficient. The real-world problems involve many uncertainties making them difficult to solve by classical means. The researchers world over have established new mathematical theories such as fuzzy set theory and rough set theory in order to model the uncertainties that appear in various fields mentioned above. In the recent days, soft set theory has been developed which offers a novel way of solving real world issues as the issue of setting the membership function does not arise. This comes handy in solving numerous problems and many advancements are being made now-a-days. Jun introduced hybrid structure utilizing the ideas of a fuzzy set and a soft set. It is to be noted that hybrid structures are a speculation of soft set and fuzzy set. In the present work, the notion of hybrid ideals of a near-ring is introduced. Significant work has been carried out to investigate a portion of their significant properties. These notions are characterized and their relations are established furthermore. For a hybrid left (resp., right) ideal, different left (resp., right) ideal structures of near-rings are constructed. Efforts have been undertaken to display the relations between the hybrid product and hybrid intersection. Finally, results based on homomorphic hybrid preimage of a hybrid left (resp., right) ideals are proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mathematical model is developed for a radiant heat exchanger with a hybrid two-layer structure, used in thermal regulation of spacecraft. The results of the model calculations are compared with the results obtained using an analytical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a real-time simulation model to simplify the research and outcome of a portable thermoelectric generator (TEG) system in real conditions. Consequently, the model is divided into three parts: conventional, segmented, and hybrid TEG systems. The conventional TEG system consisted of Bi2Te3 as the p-type and the n-type materials, whereas the segmented and the hybrid TEG systems consisted of a different combination of materials, including PbTe and Sb2Te3. The optimization of the TEG system length was carried out to achieve the highest power output, which was found to be 2 mm. In addition, thermomechanical stress distribution analysis of the module was conducted to determine the maximum load the TEG system could withstand before undergoing fracture, depending upon the yield strength of the material. The stress was analyzed in all three TEG systems, and the results were evaluated. Results were observed from the optimized length at 2 mm. The conventional, segmented, and hybrid TEG systems showed maximum power output of 147.122 mW, 171.934 mW, and 550 mW, respectively, with a temperature difference at 50 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid materials based on transition metal nitrides and carbon nanostructures are attracting intention for high-performance electrochemical energy storage systems. In this work, vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown over silicon substrate, followed by direct current plasma-sputtered deposition of chromium nitride (CrN) for different deposition times. The CNTs@ CrN electrodes exhibit vertically aligned cauliflower morphology with different degrees of dispersion on the substrate and were tested as electrodes for electrochemical capacitors (ECs). The areal capacitance of the CNTs@ CrN, as measured in 0.5 M H2SO4 electrolyte, was as high as 156.4 mF cm−2 at a scan rate of 5 mV s−1 with an excellent electrochemical retention of 90% over 10,000 cycles. Furthermore, the areal capacitance was found to increase with CrN thickness increase over the CNTs. This work demonstrates the beneficial use of CNT as template for transition metal nitride deposition and highlights CrN as a promising competitor to other transition metal nitrides already reported for ECs with similar structural morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While developing new approaches to the design of biologically active compounds based on 1,2,4-triazole, a number of new hydrazones containing pharmacologically active benzofuran, 5-methylbenzofuran, 1,2,4-triazole, pyridine, indole, and 1,3-benzodioxole fragments were synthesized in alcoholic medium in the absence of a catalyst. The effect of the synthesized compounds on the tumor DNA methylation level was studied, and inhibitory activity of some hybrid heterocyclic hydrazones containing a 1,2,4-triazole ring against DNA methylation was revealed for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a data-driven design approach to hierarchical hybrid structures with multiple lattice configurations. Two design variables are considered for each lattice substructure, one discrete variable indicating the configuration type and the other continuous density variable determining the geometrical feature size. For each lattice configuration, a series of similar lattice substructures are sampled by varying the density variable and a corresponding data-driven interpolation model is built for an explicit representation of the constitutive behavior. To reduce the model complexity, substructuring by means of static condensation is performed on the sampled lattice substructures. To achieve hybrid structure with multiple lattice configurations, a multi-material interpolation model is adopted by synthesizing the data-driven interpolation models and the discrete lattice configuration variables. The proposed approach has proved capable of generating hierarchically strongly coupled designs, which therefore allows for direct manufacturing with no post-processing requirement as required for homogenization-based designs due to the assumption on scales separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A radiator with a two-layer hybrid structure is proposed for thermal control systems in spacecraft. Mathematical modeling confirms the efficiency of the emitting surface. On that basis, without loss of reliability, the heat pipes may be eliminated, and consequently the radiator mass is significantly decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indium tin oxide (ITO)/poly[N-9′-heptadecanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4,7-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′-benzothiadiazole)] (PCDTBT):graphene/Al structures have been elaborated. By applying a specific elaboration method, we succeeded in dispersing expandable graphene oxide in organic solvent (N,N-dimethylformamide, DMF) to obtain graphene oxide and insert it into a PCDTBT matrix. The effect of annealing treatment of PCDTBT:graphene films on the optical and electrical properties were studied. The obtained results showed a remarkable effect of the annealing treatment on the optoelectronic properties. The ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectra showed that the light harvesting was increased and the orderly stacking of the polymer chains was enhanced. The photoluminescence results showed a red-shift of about 10 nm in case of heat treatment at 150°C, related to an increase of the conjugation length of the polymer chains. The electrical parameters, such as the series resistance (Rs), ideality factor (n), and barrier height (ϕb), were calculated. We found that thermal annealing reduced both the series resistance Rs and barrier height value ϕb, significantly. These results indicate that annealing treatment improves the transport phenomenon in the active layer. In addition, the Log(J)–Log(V) curves suggested that the charge transport is governed by a space-charge-limited mechanism current. The effective carrier mobility (μeff) was on the order of 10−5 cm2/V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on the hybrid structure of silver (Ag)-indium tin oxide (ITO)-graphene is proposed and investigated. SPR biosensors are subdivided into three kinds of structures Ag, Ag-graphene, and Ag-ITO-graphene, when carried out using their respective optimized structure parameters. According to our analysis and comparison, the ITO-assisted SPR biosensor has an optimal reflectivity of 3.587 × 10−8 and a maximum phase sensitivity of 1.707 × 106°/RIU, which shows that ITO can be employed to further enhance the SPR sensing performance even with the existence of graphene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A unique fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP)–aluminum spatial truss structure with upper I-type, transverse beam braces was developed for deployable bridging, yielding the operational advantages of bestraddled erection bridges. Experimental testing and numerical simulation were performed to evaluate the torsional rigidity of a fabricated cantilever, full-scale experimental structure. The predictions obtained based on a computational finite element model were strongly consistent with the experimental results. Moreover, a numerical decomposition and reconstruction procedure was employed to understand the load-bearing mechanism of the structure. The results demonstrated that the improved transverse braces possessed adequate capacity for providing sufficient rigidity and lateral stability to the complete twin-treadway structure under torsion. The torsional center of the improved structure was located at the axis of symmetry of the twin-treadway bridge deck. The representative torsional rigidity of the twin-treadway module was approximately 87.5 kN·m2/degree. Compared to the original construction, the improved structure exhibited only minor discrepancies regarding the torsional rigidity, and consistent characteristics in terms of the load-bearing mechanism. The torsional rigidity of the improved twin-treadway structure was primarily generated by the vertical bending rigidities of its two parallel single treadways through the rigid transverse braces. This significant finding specifically pertains to the unique twin-treadway hybrid bridge. The results presented in this work are expected to provide valuable insights, which could, in turn, lead to further the development of similar lightweight structural systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reviews and analyzes the areas for improving WC–Co hardmetals. One of the areas was initiated by Grygorii Samsonov in the mid-1950s and has proved to be relevant up to now. It deals with the development and study of hardmetals with an inhomogeneous structure resulting from nonuniform distribution of the carbide phase in samples with a cobalt binder. Samsonov showed in 1956 that the materials consisting of VK3 hardmetal grains embedded in a VK15 hardmetal matrix had very high wear resistance, surpassing the wear resistance of uniform VK3 and VK15 hardmetals by 8–10 times. Similar hardmetals but with a cobalt matrix were developed in the 2000s in the USA and were called 'hybrid' or 'double' hardmetals and later, in Ukraine, 'mesostructural' hardmetals. At a given level of hardness, such hardmetals show increased fracture toughness that determines their high wear resistance. Along with hybrid or mesostructural hardmetals, research efforts focusing on coarse-grained and ultracoarse-grained hardmetals, also promoting high wear resistance through increased fracture toughness and plastic strain energy, were resumed. The wear resistance of coarse-grained hardmetals was additionally increased in Germany through hardening of the cobalt matrix, specifically thick cobalt layers, by nanosized hard inclusions such as complex Co2W4C carbide (θ phase). Comparative wear resistance tests of the coarse-grained and ultrafinegrained hardmetals indicated that those with coarse WC particles were much more preferable. At the same time, the high wear resistance of ultrafine-grained hardmetals was found in abrasive wear tests at low loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents hybrid quantum dot light-emitting diodes with double emission layers. Blue quantum dots were deposited by spin-coating for the first emission layer. Then, for the second emission layer, red phosphorescent organic molecules, Ir(piq)3, were deposited by thermal evaporation without host materials. These unique bichromatic devices showed two distinct electroluminescent (EL) peaks with similar intensities at 10 V; then, the variation of the EL spectra with applied voltage was investigated systematically. The findings of this study demonstrate the potential for white EL devices using fewer materials in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sol-gel method is an excellent choice to produce composite materials with enhanced performance by efficiently combining the individual features of their components. In this work, chitosan-stabilized gold nanoparticles (ChAuNPs) were immobilized onto a SiO2/TiO2 magnetic xerogel, which was synthesized through hetero-condensation of silica and titania precursors in the presence of magnetite particles covered with a silica shell. This system allies the antimicrobial capacity of ChAuNP, the surface reactivity of titania, porous structure of silica, and magnetic response of the magnetite particles. The magnetite phase was characterized by X-ray diffraction and the shape and size of the particles were observed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. ChAuNPs were obtained in spherical shape with size below 10 nm, as characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. SiO2/TiO2 magnetic xerogel containing the ChAuNP was also characterized by thermogravimetric and textural analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and magnetism. The ChAuNP-SiO2/TiO2 magnetic xerogel is mesoporous with facile magnetic recovering and its performance as antimicrobial agent was assessed against the pathogen E. coli. The ChAuNP-SiO2/TiO2 magnetic xerogel presented inhibitory effect against the tested bacteria, even with such low gold content. After the magnetic recovering, the material was reused and maintained its antibacterial activity. Magnetic composite embedding magnetite particles in silica/titania network.Adhesion of chitosan-stabilized gold nanoparticles to silica/titania surface.Porous and high surface area material containing gold nanoparticles as antimicrobial agent.Efficient and reusable antimicrobial system against E. coli bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hybrid Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP)-aluminum spatial deck-truss structure that incorporates an innovative structural form and advanced extrusion-type FRP profiles has the advantages of a lightweight, high-bearing capacity, and faster installation. In this study, a design-oriented investigation was conducted with a simplified theoretical solution to conveniently evaluate the equivalent bending stiffness of the above-mentioned unique structure. The simplified theoretical solution was derived using the equivalent continuum beam method based on the homogenization concept and shearing equivalence principle. The theoretical prediction enabled a direct format and simple calculation process convenient for engineers in terms of the calculation and design. The theoretical solution was experimentally and numerically calibrated to ensure that the formulae have the satisfactory accuracy. The accuracy of the predicted bending stiffness exceeded 90%. The derivation procedures and formulae further indicated that the FRP web diagonals played a key role in resisting the global bending stiffness of the unique structure, and thus, the shear deformation should be considered in the structural design in terms of stiffness-driven. When compared with the conventional calculation method for obtaining the bending stiffness of steel solid-web beams and planar trusses, the proposed method was more accurate and applicable for the unique hybrid structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water splitting is a highly promising approach for the generation of sustainable, clean hydrogen energy. Tremendous efforts have been devoted to exploring highly efficient and abundant metal oxide electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution and hydrogen evolution reactions to lower the energy consumption in water splitting. In this review, we summarize the recent advances on the development of metal oxide electrocatalysts with special emphasis on the structural engineering of nanostructures from particle size, composition, crystalline facet, hybrid structure as well as the conductive supports. The special strategies relay on the transformation from the metal organic framework and ion exchange reactions for the preparation of novel metal oxide nanostructures with boosting the catalytic activities are also discussed. The fascinating methods would pave the way for rational design of advanced electrocatalysts for efficient water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metals are naturally opaque for electromagnetic (EM) waves below violet frequency due to the Coulomb screening effect. In this letter, we demonstrate high optical transparency of a seamless continuous metal film by sandwiching it in a hybrid plasmonic-optical structure. The proposed structure consists of a plasmonic array and an optical cavity, which exhibits magnetic plasmon (MP) resonance and optical Fabry-Perot (FP) resonance, respectively. An optical transparency of 84% in the near-IR regime is achieved making use of interaction between the plasmonic and optical modes. Furthermore, spectral tunability of the high transparency is demonstrated and robustness under oblique incidence is examined. This work may give insights into plasmonic-optical interactions and may be a potential candidate for transparent electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article a high gain of two layer cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna fed through coaxial probe is projected and developed and conjointly offer complete implementation of superstrate dielectric resonator antenna on patch. The hybrid structure is operated under controlled electric field and magnetic field. The design is loaded with superstrate. The results on reflection coefficient S11, Gain of assorted stages of antenna design are simulated victimisation high frequency structured simulator and conferred. High permittivity material is used as a fluid inside the cylindrical resonator. The resonant frequency of the antenna can be modified by ever-changing the dielectric constant of fluid. It has been investigated that use of superstrate increases antenna gain from by varied biasing voltage reconfigurability are often obtained. The measured gain found to be 11dBi. Reconfigurability is the key parameter during this work a completely unique cylindrical stacked dielectric resonator antenna of high gain with band is presented for Wi-Fi, Wi-max and WLAN communications. The concept becomes compatible with patch antennas for high Gain applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new organic-inorganic hybrid chain-like zincoborate [Zn(dap ) ][Zn(dap)BO(OH)] ( 1, dap = 1,2-diaminopropane) has been made under solvothermal conditions. The structure was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction and further characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, thermogravimetric analysis and photo-luminescence spectroscopy. Crystal data for 1: orthorhombic, Pca2 (No. 29), a = 12.5696(4) Å, b = 12.9506(6) Å, c = 25.2370(10) Å, Z = 4. The structure of 1 features one-dimensional (1-D) inorganic-organic hybrid zincoborate helical chain, which was constructed from the assembly of [BO(OH)] clusters and Zn(dap) linkers. Adjacent zincoborate chains are further linked by [Zn(dap)] complexes through extensive hydrogen-bonds to generate 3-D supramolecular network. Two distinct coordination-modes of zinc centers are simultaneously observed in the structure, and they play different roles in the formation of the resultant framework. In addition, 1 exhibits extensive luminescence and moderate second-harmonic generation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new zinc borate [Zn( dap)][BO(OH)] ( 1, dap = 1,3-diaminopropane) has been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized by IR, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, powder and single-crystal X-ray diffractions. It crystallized in the monoclinic P2/ c space group, a = 7.0050(4) Å, b = 7.8160(2) Å, c = 18.4470(5) Å, β = 94.571(3) Å, V = 1006.78(7) Å, Z = 4, R = 0.0342, wR = 0.0835. Compound 1 displays a novel two-dimensional inorganic-organic hybrid zinc borate layer constructed from the assembly of [BO(OH)] clusters, ZnON tetrahedra and organic dap molecules. The occurrence of infinite Zn-amine-Zn chains in the structure is uncommon and noteworthy in borate materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the hybrid structures were created by electrochemical etching of silicon wafer and deposition of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) on the porous silicon (PS) layer. With the help of SEM and AFM, the formation of hybrid PS-RGO structure was confirmed. By means of current-voltage characteristic analysis and impedance spectroscopy, we studied electrical characteristics of PS-RGO structures. The formation of photosensitive electrical barriers in hybrid structures was revealed. Temporal parameters and spectral characteristics of photoresponse in the 400-1100-nm wavelength range were investigated. The widening of spectral range of photosensitivity of the hybrid structures in short-wavelength range in comparison with single-crystal silicon was revealed. The obtained results broaden the prospects of application of the PS-RGO structures in photoelectronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a new joining technology to produce hybrid structures with continuous-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics and metallic components is presented adapting the concept of classical clinching for thermoplastic composites. To demonstrate the capability of the thermoclinching process, prototypic joints were manufactured using an experimental joining installation developed. Nondestructive and destructive analyses of the thermoclinched joints showed that a relocation of the reinforcement into the neck and head area of the joining zone could be achieved. For a first estimation of the maximum load-carrying capacity of the joints, single-lap specimens with both reinforced and nonreinforced thermoplastics were manufactured and tested, revealing up to 50% higher failure loads of the reinforced joints. To understand the local material configuration and to achieve a defined and adjustable fabric structure in the head area of the joint, further analyses with regard to material- and tool-side conditions of the joining zone are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic-inorganic hybrid structure, assembled by Rh-doped BiTiO crystal and liquid crystal (LC) layer, operating at near-infrared range is proposed and demonstrated. Due to the photorefractive properties of inorganic substrate, light illumination caused a space charge field which acts as a driving force for LC molecules re-alignment and subsequent refractive index modulation. All optically controlled phase retardation ability has been demonstrated supporting possibilities for further infrared applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new group-based accelerating structure called hybrid structure for the ray tracing of dynamic scenes, whose main advantage is that we can choose a suitable local accelerating structure for each object in the scene. In the hybrid structure, the objects in the scene are organized into a hierarchical bounding volume structure by surface area heuristic (SAH) cost model with each object group node including only one object, and a local accelerating structure is constructed for each object. For a hybrid structure, a scene is divided into static part and dynamic part by the movement, and only dynamic part is updated in each frame. In addition, we design an efficient storage format according to the graphics processing unit (GPU) storage characteristics, which makes it easy to realize the parallel ray tracing on GPU. Experimental results show that the hybrid structure is efficient to deal with the dynamic scene including different kinds of objects, and it can be easily integrated into parallel application systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied an effect of the graphene oxide (GO) layer on the optical and electrical properties of porous silicon (PS) in hybrid PS-GO structure created by electrochemical etching of silicon wafer and deposition of GO from water dispersion on PS. With the help of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic-force microscopy (AFM), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, it was established that GO formed a thin film on the PS surface and is partly embedded in the pores of PS. A comparative analysis of the FTIR spectra for the PS and PS-GO structures confirms the passivation of the PS surface by the GO film. This film has a sufficient transparency for excitation and emission of photoluminescence (PL). Moreover, GO modifies PL spectrum of PS, shifting the PL maximum by 25 nm towards lower energies. GO deposition on the surface of the porous silicon leads to the change in the electrical parameters of PS in AC and DC modes. By means of current-voltage characteristics (CVC) and impedance spectroscopy, it is shown that the impact of GO on electrical characteristics of PS manifests in reduced capacitance and lower internal resistance of hybrid structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural properties of lightweight constructions can be adapted to specific local requirements using multi-material designs. Aluminum alloys and carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) are materials of great interest requiring suitable joining techniques in order to transfer the advantages of combining the materials to structural benefits. Thus, the research group 'Schwarz-Silber' investigates novel concepts to enable frontal aluminum-CFRP joints using transition structures. In the foil concept titanium foils are used as transition elements. Specimens have been produced using three-layer titanium laminates. In tensile tests, three failure locations have been observed: (1) Al-Ti seam, (2) Ti-CFRP hybrid laminate, and (3) CFRP laminate. In this paper, the fracture mechanisms of these failure modes are investigated by analyzing metallographic micrographs and fracture surfaces as well as by correlating load-displacement curves to video imaging of tensile tests. The results show that the cracking of the CFRP layers can be traced back to an assembly error. The laminate character of the titanium part tends to reduce the Al-Ti seam strength. However, two sub-joint tests demonstrate that the Al-Ti seam can endure loads up to 9.5 kN. The ductile failure behavior of the Ti-CFRP hybrid laminates is caused by plastic deformations of the titanium laminate liners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybridization of carbon nanotubes (CNT) with graphene provides a promising means of integrating the attributes of both materials, thereby enabling widespread application. Here, we present a method to directly assemble hybrid CNT-graphene films by a blown bubble method combined with selective substrate annealing. We use polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) as the polymeric matrix to blow bubbles containing self-assembled multi-walled CNT arrays, and then transform the bubble film into a CNT-graphene hybrid film by thermal annealing on a Cu substrate; PMMA serves as the carbon source for growing single to few-layer graphene among the CNT network until a continuously hybridized structure is formed. Compared to the bare (non-hybridized) CNT networks, the hybrid films exhibit improved electrical conductivity and structural integrity. Our method also enables the fabrication of a multi-walled CNT-Si solar cell, which has high power conversion efficiency, through the assembly of hybrid CNT-graphene structures. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural performance of arc spraying rapid tooling (ASRT) directly affects its application in prototype automobile manufacturing. The ASRT is made up of several kinds of materials, which increases the difficulty of structural analysis. In this paper, the properties of arc-sprayed coating and its influence on ASRT were analyzed by tensile test, and the stiffness model of ASRT was established to optimize the structure design. Furthermore, a failure evaluation criterion was adopted to analyze the feasibility and reliability of ASRT. Therefore, a new hybrid structure of ASRT was proposed to reduce the difficulty of its fabrication process. The research results demonstrate that the performance of ASRT can be improved by proper structure design, and it is also proved that ASRT is easy to be fabricated at low cost and can meet the requirements for prototype automobile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrochemical growth of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures on graphene on glass using zinc nitrate hexahydrate was studied. The effects of current densities and temperatures on the morphological, structural, and optical properties of the ZnO structures were studied. Vertically aligned nanorods were obtained at a low temperature of 75°C, and the diameters increased with current density. Growth temperature seems to have a strong effect in generating well-defined hexagonal-shape nanorods with a smooth top edge surface. A film-like structure was observed for high current densities above -1.0 mA/cm and temperatures above 80°C due to the coalescence between the neighboring nanorods with large diameter. The nanorods grown at a temperature of 75°C with a low current density of -0.1 mA/cm exhibited the highest density of 1.45 × 10 cm. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the grown ZnO crystallites were highly oriented along the c-axis. The intensity ratio of the ultraviolet (UV) region emission to the visible region emission, I/ I, showed a decrement with the current densities for all grown samples. The samples grown at the current density below -0.5 mA/cm showed high I/ I values closer to or higher than 1.0, suggesting their fewer structural defects. For all the ZnO/graphene structures, the high transmittance up to 65% was obtained at the light wavelength of 550 nm. Structural and optical properties of the grown ZnO structures seem to be effectively controlled by the current density rather than the growth temperature. ZnO nanorod/graphene hybrid structure on glass is expected to be a promising structure for solar cell which is a conceivable candidate to address the global need for an inexpensive alternative energy source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An integrated electrode consisting of hybrid nanonet/nanoflake NiCoO grown on stainless steel mesh substrates exhibits a high specific capacitance while maintaining high-rate capability and good cycling stability. The specific capacitance reaches a maximum of 911 F g at a current density of 10 A g, which can still retain 864 F g (94.8 % retention) after 10,000 cycles. These much-improved electrochemical performances are attributed to the unique architecture of NiCoO electrode. The interconnected nanonet NiCoO with an ultrahigh surface area significantly facilitates the rapid ion/electron transport and guarantees good mechanical adhesion, while the ultrathin nanoflakes further extend the active sites for fast redox reactions for efficient energy storage. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]