Search Results (14)

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is pivotal in hydrogen production via water electrolysis, yet its sluggish kinetics, stemming from the four-electron transfer process, remain a major obstacle, with overpotential reduction being critical for enhancing efficiency. This work addresses this challenge by developing a novel approach to stabilize and activate non-precious metal catalysts for OER. Specifically, we synthesized a three-dimensional flake NiFe-LDH/ZIF-L composite catalyst on a flexible nickel foam (NF) substrate through a room temperature soaking and hydrothermal method, leveraging the mesoporous structure of ZIF-L to increase the specific surface area and optimizing electron transfer pathways via interfacial regulation. Continuous linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) scanning induced structural self-reconstruction, forming highly active NiOOH species enriched with oxygen vacancies, which significantly boosted catalytic performance. Experimental results demonstrate an overpotential of only 221 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and a Tafel slope of 56.3 mV dec⁻¹, alongside remarkable stability, attributed to the catalyst’s hierarchical nanostructure that accelerates mass diffusion and charge transfer. The innovation lies in the synergistic effect of the mesoporous ZIF-L structure and interfacial regulation, which collectively enhance the catalyst’s activity and durability, offering a promising strategy for advancing large-scale water electrolysis hydrogen production technology. Full article

To address the issue of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions during crude oil storage and transportation, this study proposes a sandwich-structured zeolite molecular sieve (SMZ) fabricated via a pressing-sintering process integrating ZSM-5 powder and granules. The resulting monolithic zeolite exhibits enhanced mechanical strength and optimized pore architecture. Systematic investigations revealed that sintering at 600 °C with 10% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) yielded SMZ with a specific surface area of 349.51 m²/g and pore volume of 0.37 cm³/g. Its hierarchical pore system—micropores (0.495 nm) coupled with mesopores (2–10 nm)—significantly improved adsorption kinetics. Dynamic adsorption tests demonstrated superior performance: SMZ achieved saturation capacities of 127.6 mg/g for propane and 118.2 mg/g for n-butane in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), with a breakthrough time of 41 min and a 106% increase in adsorption capacity compared to conventional monolithic zeolite (MZ) (90.2 mg/g vs. 43.8 mg/g). Regeneration studies confirmed that combined thermal desorption (250 °C) and nitrogen purging maintained > 95% capacity retention over five cycles, attributed to the high thermal stability of the MFI topology framework (≤600 °C) and crack-resistant ceramic-like interfaces. Additionally, SMZ exhibited exceptional hydrophobicity, with a selectivity coefficient of 20.9 for propane under 60% relative humidity. This work provides theoretical and technical foundations for developing efficient and durable adsorbents for industrial VOC mitigation. Full article

The dynamic characteristics of sandwich panels with a hierarchical hexagonal honeycomb (SP-HHHs) show significant improvements due to their distinct hierarchy configurations. However, this also increases the complexity of structural analysis. To address this issue, the variational asymptotic method was utilized to homogenize the unit cell of the SP-HHH and obtain the equivalent stiffness, establishing a two-dimensional equivalent plate model (2D-EPM). The accuracy and effectiveness of the 2D-EPM were then verified through comparisons with the results from a detailed 3D FE model in terms of the free vibration and frequency- and time-domain forced vibration, as well as through local field recovery analysis at peak and trough times. Furthermore, the tailorability of the typical unit cell was utilized to perform a parametric analysis of the effects of the length and thickness ratios of the first-order hierarchy on the dynamic characteristics of the SP-HHH under periodic loading. The results reveal that the vertices serve as weak points in the SP-HHH, while the vertex cell pattern significantly influences the specific stiffness and stiffness characteristics of the panel. The SP-HHH with hexagonal vertex cells has superior specific stiffness compared to panels with circular and rectangular vertex cells, resulting in a more lightweight design and enhanced stiffness. Full article

The aim of the present paper is to investigate the mechanical behavior of FFF 3D-printed specimens of polylactic acid (PLA), PLA reinforced with nanodiamonds (PLA/uDiamond) and PLA reinforced with carbon fibers (PLA/CF) under various experimental tests such as compressive and cyclic compressive tests, nanoindentation tests, as well as scanning electron microscopy tests (SEM). Furthermore, the current work aims to design and fabricate hierarchical honeycombs of the zeroth, first and second order using materials under investigation, and perform examination tests of their dynamic behavior. The mechanical behavior of hierarchical sandwich structures was determined by conducting experimental bending tests along with finite element analysis (FEA) simulations. The results reveal that the incorporation of nanodiamonds into the PLA matrix enhanced the elastic modulus, strength and hardness of the 3D-printed specimens. In addition, the second order of the PLA/uD hierarchical sandwich structure presented increased strength, elastic and flexural modulus in comparison with the zeroth and first hierarchies. Regarding the dynamic behavior, the second order of the PLA/uD honeycomb structure revealed the biggest increase in stiffness as compared to PLA nanocomposite filaments. Full article

With the increasing proportion of close-distance coal seam mining in China, the problem of strong mining pressure during the mining of close-distance coal seams is becoming more and more severe. This article focuses on the complex stress environment and severe mining pressure encountered in the mining of thick coal seams under the multi-coal-seam goaf of Zhunnan Coal Mine. By using research methods, such as similar material simulation, theoretical analysis, and numerical simulation, it studies in depth the instability characteristics of the overlying rock structure of the W1701 working face, the inducing factors and mechanisms of strong mining pressure during the mining process, and control measures. The results show that the roof structure of the W1701 working face can be divided into “high-level key layer (hard rock)–giant thick soft and weak rock group–low-level key layer (hard rock)”, and the law of mining pressure manifestation presents a small cycle formed by the instability of “masonry beam” structure and a main large cycle formed by the periodic penetration and step-down of the giant thick soft and weak rock group, with the load on the support during the large cycle up to 5.4 times the rated working resistance. In addition, this article proposes the strategy of using layered mining to control the manifestation of strong mining pressure under the “hard sandwiched soft” overlying rock condition of the Zhunnan Coal Mine, optimizes the thickness of the layered mining of the thick coal seam, and finally, determines the upper layer thickness of 2.8 m and the lower layer thickness of 4 m, inducing the giant thick soft and weak rock formation to undergo incremental damage and releasing the fracture energy incrementally, effectively controlling the manifestation threat of strong mining pressure in the mining of thick coal seams under the close-distance coal seam goaf. As the proportion of close-range coal seam mining increases in China, the problem of strong mining pressure during the mining of close-range coal seams becomes more severe. This article focuses on the complex stress environment and severe mining pressure in the mining of thick coal seams under multiple mined-out areas in the Zhunnan coal mine. Similar material simulation, theoretical analysis, and numerical simulation methods were used to conduct in-depth research on the unstable characteristics of the overlying rock structure of the W1701 working face, the causes and mechanisms of strong mining pressure during the mining process, and control measures. The results show that the roof structure of the W1701 working face can be divided into “high-level key layer (hard rock)–thick soft weak rock group–low-level key layer (hard rock).” The law of mining pressure manifestation presents small cycles of instability formed by “block beams” and main cycles of pressure formed by vertically cracked periodic penetration and step sinking of the thick soft weak rock group. Moreover, during the main cycle of pressure, the load-bearing capacity of the support is up to 5.4 times the rated working resistance. Furthermore, it is proposed to use hierarchical mining to control the manifestation of strong mining pressure in the “hard-inlaid soft” overlying rock condition of the Zhunnan coal mine and optimize the thickness of layered mining of thick coal seams. Ultimately, the upper layer thickness was determined as 2.8 m; the lower layer thickness was determined as 4 m, and the layered mining induced the thick soft weak rock group to undergo gradual damage and energy release, effectively controlling the threat of severe mining pressure during the mining of thick coal seams under the close-range coal seam mining. Full article

The purpose of this paper is to determine the best dimple core design for metal sandwich panels by investigating the various critical criteria and core design parameters using the fuzzy-hybrid multi-criteria decision-making tool. The structural integrity of a sandwich panel depends on the core design and significantly affects the bonding strength. The continuous design and testing of a sandwich panel is a very lengthy process that increases the design time. The simulation analysis output was segregated into nine critical failure criteria. All the critical criteria weightages were evaluated using the Fuzzy-Analytical Hierarchical Process, while the Fuzzy—Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution was used to evaluate the Closeness Coefficient value to determine the best core design configuration. The results indicate that the core configuration with a diameter of 6.0 mm and a depth of 3.0 mm obtained the highest closeness coefficient values, 0.9937 and 0.9294, under cyclic loading conditions of 50% and 70%. It was shown that using average sizes in the dimple configuration tends to provide better delamination resistance and structural integrity. This study contributes to the selection of the optimum core design configuration based on the various design criteria and using non-complex and competent analysis. Full article

In this paper, wave propagation in multi-scale hybrid glass fiber (GF)/carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer nanocomposite plates is studied for the first time by means of refined higher-order plate theory. The hybrid nanocomposite consists of CNTs and glass fibers (GF) as reinforcing components distributed within a polymeric matrix. A hierarchical micromechanical approach is used to predict the effective mechanical properties of the hybrid nanocomposite, including the three-dimensional (3D) Mori-Tanaka method and the rule of mixture. Moreover, a refined-type higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT) is implemented to take into account the influence of the shear deformation on the motion equations of the system. Then, the governing equations are achieved on the basis of the energy-based Hamilton’s principle. Finally, the derived equations will be solved analytically for the purpose of extracting the natural frequency of the continuous system. A set of numerical examples are provided to cover the effects of various parameters on the wave dispersion characteristics of the plate. It can be declared that the hybrid nanocomposite system can achieve higher wave frequencies compared with other types of composite structures. Additionally, it is found that the selection of the lay-ups and length-to-diameter ratio plays a significant role in the determination of the sandwich plate’s acoustic response. Full article

Sandwich structures are a class of multifunctional high-performance structural composites that have the advantages of being lightweight, of a high strength-to-weight ratio, and of high specific energy absorption capabilities. The creative design of the core along with the apposite material selection for the fabrication of the face sheet and core are the two prerequisites with encouraging areas for further expedition towards the fabrication of advanced composite sandwich structures. The current review work focused on different types of core designs, such as truss, foam, corrugated, honeycomb, derivative, hybrid, hollow, hierarchical, gradient, folded, and smart core along with different composite materials accessible for face sheet fabrication, including fiber-reinforced composite, metal matrix composite, and polymer matrix composite are considered. The joining method plays a major role for the performance evolution of sandwich structures, which were also investigated. Further discussions are aligned to address major challenges in the fabrication of sandwich structures and further enlighten the future direction of the advanced composite sandwich structure. Finally, the work is summarized with a brief conclusion. This review article provides wider guidelines for researchers in designing and manufacturing next-generation lightweight multilayer core sandwich structures. Full article

This research study involves designing and optimizing a sandwich structure based on an auxetic structure to protect the pouch battery system for electric vehicles undergoing ground impact load. The core of the sandwich structure is filled with the auxetic structure that has gone through optimization to maximize the specific energy absorbed. Its performance is analyzed with the non-linear finite element method. Five geometrical variables of the auxetic structures are analyzed using the analysis of variance and optimized using Taguchi’s method. The optimum control variables are double-U hierarchal (DUH), the cross-section’s thickness = 2 mm, the length of the cell = 10 mm, the width of the cell = 17 mm, and the bending height = 3 mm. The optimized geometries are then arranged into three different sandwich structure configurations. The core is filled with optimized DUH cells that have been enlarged to 200% in length, arranged in 11 × 11 × 1 cells, resulting in a total dimension and mass of 189 × 189 × 12 mm and 0.75 Kg. The optimized sandwich structure shows that the pouch battery cells can be protected very well from ground impact load with a maximum deformation of 1.92 mm, below the deformation threshold for battery failure. Full article

The objective of this research is the fabrication of biodegradable starch-based sandwich materials. The investigated sandwich structures consist of maize starch-based films as skins and biodegradable 3D-printed polylactic filaments (PLA) as the core. To investigate the tensile properties of the skins, conventional and nanocomposite films were prepared by a solution mixing procedure with maize starch and glycerol as the plasticizer, and they were reinforced with sodium montmorillonite clay, cellulose fibers and fiberglass fabric, with different combinations. Test results indicated a significant improvement in the mechanical and morphological properties of composite films prepared with sodium montmorillonite clay in addition with cellulose fibers and fiberglass fabric, with 20 wt% of glycerol. The morphology of the skins was also examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Three orders of hierarchical honeycombs were designed for the 3D-printed core. To investigate how the skin material and the design of the core affect the mechanical properties of the starch-based sandwich, specimens were tested under a three-point bending regime. The test results have shown that the flexural strength of the biodegradable sandwich structure increased with the use of a second order hierarchy core and starch-based skins improved the strength and stiffness of the neat PLA-based honeycomb core. The bending behavior of the hierarchical honeycombs was also assessed with finite element analysis (FEA) in combination with experimental findings. Flexural properties demonstrated that the use of starch-based films and a PLA honeycomb core is a suitable solution for biodegradable sandwich structures. Full article

Bio-inspired self-similar hierarchical honeycombs are multifunctional cellular topologies used for resisting various loadings. However, the crushing behavior under large plastic deformation is still unknown. This paper investigates the in-plane compressive response of selective laser melting (SLM) fabricated hierarchical honeycombs. The effects of hierarchical order, relative density as well as constituent material are evaluated. The results show that at small deformation, the AlSi10Mg alloy hierarchical honeycombs show great advantages over the elastic modulus and compressive strength than 316L steel hierarchical honeycombs. As the relative density and hierarchical order increase, the failure mechanism of AlSi10Mg alloy honeycombs gradually changes from a bending-dominated mode to a fracture-dominated mode; whereas all the 316L steel honeycombs fail due to the distortion of original unit cells. At large deformation, the AlSi10Mg alloy honeycombs behave with brittle responses, while the 316L steel honeycombs exhibit ductile responses, showing a negative Poisson’s ratio behavior and gradient deformation of hierarchical unit cells. The addition of unit cell refinements improves the elastic modulus of AlSi10Mg alloy honeycombs and advances the densification of 316L steel honeycombs. In addition, the effect of constituent material on the compressive response of hierarchical honeycombs has been discussed. This study facilitates the development and future potential application of multifunctional ultra-light sandwich structures. Full article

This study aims to develop an oxygen regeneration layer sandwiched between multiple porous polyurethanes (PU) to improve the performance of implantable glucose sensors. Sensors were prepared by coating electrodes with platinum nanoparticles, Nafion, glucose oxidase and sandwich hierarchically porous membrane with an oxygen supplement function (SHPM-OS). The SHPM-OS consisted of a hierarchically porous structure synthesized by polyethylene glycol and PU and a catalase (Cat) layer that was coated between hierarchical membranes and used to balance the sensitivity and linearity of glucose sensors, as well as reduce the influence of oxygen deficiency during monitoring. Compared with the sensitivity and linearity of traditional non-porous (NO-P) sensors (35.95 nA/mM, 0.9987, respectively) and single porous (SGL-P) sensors (45.3 nA /mM, 0.9610, respectively), the sensitivity and linearity of the SHPM-OS sensor was 98.45 nA/mM and 0.9989, respectively, which was more sensitive with higher linearity. The sensor showed a response speed of five seconds and a relative sensitivity of 90% in the first 10 days and remained 78% on day 20. This sensor coated with SHPM-OS achieved rapid responses to changes of glucose concentration while maintaining high linearity for long monitoring times. Thus, it may reduce the difficulty of back-end hardware module development and assist with effective glucose self-management for people with diabetes. Full article

Given its high-capacity of multielectron (de-)lithiation, SnO₂ is deemed as a competitive anode substance to tackle energy density restrictions of low-theoretical-capacity traditional graphite. However, its pragmatic adhibition seriously encounters poor initial coulombic efficiency from irreversible Li₂O formation and drastic volume change during repeated charge/discharge. Here, an applicable gel pyrolysis methodology establishes a SnO₂/Fe₂O₃ intercalated carbon monolith as superior anode materials for Li ion batteries to effectively surmount problems of SnO₂. Its bulk-like, micron-sized, compact, and non-porous structures with low area surfaces (14.2 m² g⁻¹) obviously increase the tap density without compromising the transport kinetics, distinct from myriad hierarchically holey metal/carbon materials recorded till date. During the long-term Li⁺ insertion/extraction, the carbon matrix not only functions as a stress management framework to alleviate the stress intensification on surface layers, enabling the electrode to retain its morphological/mechanic integrity and yielding a steady solid electrolyte interphase film, but also imparts very robust connection to stop SnO₂ from coarsening/losing electric contact, facilitating fast electrolyte infiltration and ion/electron transfer. Besides, the closely contacted and evenly distributed Fe₂O₃/SnO₂ nanoparticles supply additional charge-transfer driving force, thanks to a built-in electric field. Benefiting from such virtues, the embedment of binary metal oxides in the dense carbons enhances initial Coulombic efficiency up to 67.3%, with an elevated reversible capacity of 726 mAh/g at 0.2 A/g, a high capacity retention of 84% after 100 cycles, a boosted rate capability between 0.2 and 3.2 A g⁻¹, and a stable cycle life of 466 mAh/g over 200 cycles at 1 A g⁻¹. Our scenario based upon this unique binary metal-in-carbon sandwich compact construction to achieve the stress regulation and the so-called synergistic effect between metals or metal oxides and carbons is economically effective and tractable enough to scale up the preparation and can be rifely employed to other oxide anodes for ameliorating their electrochemical properties. Full article

Chitosan (CS) stacking mats with excellent performance for adsorption of copper ions (Cu(II)) in wastewater were fabricated by alternating electrospinning/electrospraying. The hierarchical structure of the stacking membranes was designed by CS micro-hemispheres sandwiched between CS fibers. The CS stack membranes prepared by the electrospinning technology could effectively increase the specific surface area, and thus, facilitate the adsorption of copper ions. CS stacking membranes with three layers reached adsorption equilibrium within 60 min, and had a maximum absorbance of 276.2 mg/g. The absorbance performance was superior to most of the reported CS adsorbents. Compared with CS fiber mats which were dominated by CS chemical structure during adsorption, the stacking structure of CS membranes contributed to the high efficient capability, and exhibited the multilayer adsorption behavior. This study may develop a promising method for the design of environmentally-friendly natural polymer adsorbents to remove Cu(II) in wastewater. Full article